Four things the Blitzboks need to do to kick-start their season

While the Springboks have become South African rugby’s flagship brand, that’s essentially down to one year of unprecedented success under the tutelage of Rassie Erasmus.

However, in terms of consistent excellence and sheer stability, the Blitzboks should be considered the jewel in the crown.

Despite a transitional campaign in 2018/19, where the loss of several stalwarts to fifteens saw them finish fourth on the overall points table, Neil Powell’s troops still managed to win two tournaments and continue to cultivate decent prospects out of its academy structures.

On Thursday, they commence the new season in Dubai and will target nothing less than gold in the desert.

The Blitzboks recently won there in 2014, 2015 (the plate), 2016 and 2017 and have used that success for an early platform to hit the ground running in the overall series.

With the Cape Town Sevens hot on the heels next week, these two coming weekends could go a long way in South Africa resuming the normal service of being trendsetters in the series they won in 2016/17 and 2017/18.

Here’s what they need to do.

‘Outsider’ fifteens stars must be hungry…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImEplPdeJwA

Ruhan Nel, Seabelo Senatla, Rosko Specman and Dylan Sage are no strangers to balancing the demands of rugby’s two formats, but there’s a key difference to their inclusions this season.

In previous campaigns, they still to a large extent prioritised the sevens formats while steadily establishing themselves in fifteens.

Yet these men now return to the Blitzboks setup as outsiders to an extent – players who need to adapt to the sevens team again, instead of the other way around.

The fact that Super Rugby starts at the end of January means most of this group of men probably will only play in the first two tournaments before reporting back to their franchises.

Is two weekends of actions enough to inspire them to conjure up immediate magic?

Can the Blitzboks afford to misfire initially when they might’ve picked a more regular member?

… and they’ll need to be conditioned properly

Yes, the Blitzboks’ solid template is based on power too, but fundamentally sevens conditioning contrasts sharply to fifteens.

In sevens, players run far more and, quite obviously, are engaged in far less collisions.

The premium then is doing more cardio work and focusing on explosiveness rather than bulking up.

It’s undoubtedly a different type of fitness and one that will require of Senatla and co to be very adaptable.

They simply can’t be caught off the pace when their stints are (currently) so short.

Wiser rookies need to channel experience better

Zain Davids. (Photo by Linnea Rheborg/Getty Images)

Much of the Blitzboks’ sporadic struggles last season was down to a lack of composure at vital stages of matches: a defensive misread, a needless penalty or some substandard game management.

But so-called engine room men like Ryan Oosthuizen and Zain and Selvyn Davids now comfortably have double figure amounts of tournaments under their belt and should now be well versed with the system.

More importantly, the retirements of the inspirational Philip Snyman and Kyle Brown grants them a bit more security in terms of their selections, something they should relish.

Believe in the system, but add a dash of X-factor

Justin Geduld of South Africa
during The HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2019 London 7s Cup Quarter Final Match 29 between South Africa and Australia at Twickenham on 26 May 2019
(Photo by Action Foto Sport/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

There’s not much wrong with the Blitzboks’ template.

Much like the Springboks, it’s an approach that is sympathetic to the strengths of the men at Powell’s disposal and continues to rattle opponents when applied ruthlessly and accurately.

However, the hallmark of that game-plan during the series-winning seasons of 2016/17 and 2017/18 was how that pressure was turned into points by deadly attackers.

The long-term fitness of playmaker Justin Geduld will go a long way in boosting that objective, while Powell needs to encourage some of his more instinctive stars to ensure they mix structure with some unexpected magic.

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