The Springbok Sevens have assembled in Mossel Bay for a final training camp before their departure to San Francisco for the Sevens World Cup from 20-22 July.
The Blitzboks’ final 12-man squad for the World Cup will be announced on Wednesday and coach Neil Powell said he will use this camp to fine-tune their preparations for the last tournament of the season.
‘We are now fully focused on what we want to achieve in San Francisco and all our planning is geared towards being ready for that first match,’ said Powell.
‘The [knockout] format of the World Cup is such that no team can afford even the slightest slip-up, and we need to ensure our timing is right,’ he explained. ‘The game plan is well drilled in as we have just played finished the Sevens Series, but the application and commitment come with every match we play. We will be fine-tuning all aspects of our play this week.’
The Blitzboks played a warm-up match against the Golden Lions in Johannesburg last week.
‘The first highlight was that all players came through that without any new injury concerns, while guys such as Rosko Specman and Selvyn Davids showed good progress in their return to the play-phase of recovery,’ said Powell.
He confirmed that Chris Dry and Stedman Gans will not form part of the final week’s training as they will not be fit in time to feature in the Blitzboks’ first World Cup match on 21 July against either Ireland or Chile.
Photo: Steve Bardens/Getty Images
