Johannesburg – The Springbok Sevens rugby squad is looking to open their season on a positive note when the 2014/15 Sevens World Series campaign kicks off on Saturday at the Gold Coast in Australia.
The team arrived on Sunday and were busy fine-tuning their final preparations for the season kick-off, the SA Rugby Union said in a statement on Wednesday.
The top four teams on the final standings of the World Series will gain automatic entry to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, making it an important and competitive season.
National coach Neil Powell led the Springboks Sevens to a credible second place on the 2013/2014 World Series log and capped a successful first season in charge of the team by steering them to the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
“We had our last attacking session on Tuesday and today (Wednesday) the players enjoyed a day off because the last week or so was a very busy time,” Powell said.
“On Thursday we will have a defensive session and then on Friday we finish preparations with the captain's run.
“Our overall preparations did not go as smoothly as I'd hoped, but that's the way it goes sometimes and you just have to adopt and manage things accordingly.”
Powell said some players had minor niggles, while Kwagga Smith only joined the squad on the day of their departure because of his Currie Cup commitments with the Golden Lions.
The Springbok Sevens were given the honour of presenting the Springboks with their match jerseys on the eve of their Test match against the All Blacks. – Sapa