Johannesburg – Former Springbok winger Breyton Paulse, who is looking for opportunities in coaching, is keen to use this weekend's George 7s PL tournament at Outeniqua Park as a vehicle to showcase his talents.
The 38-year-old made a comeback at last year's inaugural showpiece in the colours of Kaizer Chiefs, but opted for a coaching role with the same team at this year's event.
Paulse said he was keen to follow in the footsteps of Kaizer Chiefs coach Gcobani Bobo and become more involved in the technical side of the game.
Bobo made his coaching debut for Chiefs last year and has since been snapped up by the University of Johannesburg's Varsity Cup side.
“It is certainly something that I am interested in and this week will be a good learning curve for me,” Paulse said on Thursday.
“I have always endorsed an attacking and adventurous style of rugby. Sevens certainly fits into that mindset.
“So I am keen to see how I can combine my philosophy into the more structured nature of coaching.”
Paulse and Bobo are from a unique group of players who have played both 15s and sevens for the Springboks.
“At this stage I will be looking at the sevens code to start off, so it will be important weekend for me to help the Kaizer Chiefs team towards the title.”
The tournament already proved to be a springboard for players and coaches alike, something which pleased tournament promoter Willem Strauss.
“From the start, one of the objectives of the tournament has been to develop players and coaches alike and to give them a platform where they can learn their trade,” Strauss said.
“We saw a number of newcomers to the tournament last year, like Seabelo Senatla and Justin Geduld, who slotted in seamlessly to the demands of the high performance Sevens World Series and that was very rewarding for us.”
Pumas and SA President's XV coach Jimmy Stonehouse, will be in charge of the Titans, while former Springbok Sevens coach Paul Treu is in charge of Kenya and former Springbok Bevin Fortuin will guide hosts SWD Eagles.
Neil Powell succeeded Treu as national coach was in charge of Samurai, who won the inaugural 7s PL title.
Current Samurai coach Marius Schoeman played for the BlitzBokke in more than 40 tournaments, while Eddie Fredericks (Cheetahs) and Jonathan Mokuena (Living Ball) also donned the Sevens jersey.
Roelof Kotze (Sharks) and Pieter van den Berg (Leopards) proved to be the most successful provincial sevens coaches in recent times, winning the Saru interprovincial title in 2012 and 2013 respectively. – Sapa