Ready to bow out as Blitzboks coach at the Cape Town-based Sevens World Cup in September, Neil Powell is confident his successor will keep South Africa on the winning track. DYLAN JACK reports.
Powell will bring an end to his 15-year association with Springbok Sevens rugby when he joins the Sharks as director of rugby shortly after the Sevens World Cup in Cape Town.
The 44-year-old first joined the Blitzboks as a player back in 2007 and, shortly after retiring, was appointed as former head coach Paul Treu’s successor in 2013.
Together with sevens high-performance manager Marius Schoeman, Powell has worked to take the Blitzboks to new heights, helping players create successful careers in both the sevens and fifteens game.
During his tenure, the Blitzboks have won three World Sevens Series titles, two Commonwealth Games gold medals and an Olympic Games bronze medal.
As it stands, there are just four weeks until South Africa welcomes the world to Cape Town Stadium for the Sevens World Cup between 9 and 11 September, which will be Powell’s final tournament as the home side’s head coach.
In a unique opportunity, Powell, on behalf of Caste Lite, assembled media in the Cape Town Stadium locker room, where he shared his thoughts on soon making his curtain call in front of what is expected to be a jam-packed stadium.
“It’s becoming more of a reality, to be honest,” admitted Powell. “I had my moments during the Commonwealth Games. It does become difficult, knowing that this will all come to an end in a few weeks’ time. It’s a special system with special people.
“But I am also ready for a new challenge. I have done what I can and given all that I can to the system. It’s time for a new challenge in a new environment, but it does become more real as we get closer to the time.”
While Powell’s successor is still to be announced, he said he has full confidence in the new head coach to build on the platform he will leave behind.
“Whoever is going to take over, the team will be in good hands. They will just build on what we have already achieved in the system. It’s going to be strange to be sitting on this side of the TV, watching the Springbok Sevens play because I’ve been part of it for the last 15 years.
“But I know that the guys who take over the coaching responsibilities will look after the system, both from a cultural perspective and an on-field perspective.”
There has been little opportunity for the Blitzboks to put their legs up after returning from the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham as gold medallists.
The final leg of the Sevens Series, held in Los Angeles, starts on 27 August and there will be just one weekend off before the Blitzboks could have an opportunity to complete a rare treble in Cape Town.
“If we had a choice, we obviously would have loved to have more time in between the two,” said Powell. “We know from experience from previous World Series, coming back from the USA or Canada, it does take you a while to recover from the jetlag.
“In saying that, the group that we have in LA and the potential quarter-final is probably the best preparation we can get for the World Cup. Our first game will be against America, then we have Canada and New Zealand. If we get through those, we could face Fiji or Ireland. It’s nice and tough.
“It’s a massive challenge and if we can get through that and keep our momentum and confidence, it will contribute massively to what we want to achieve at the World Cup, which will be a straight knockout, there are no second chances.”
Photo: Grant Pitcher/Gallo Images
