U.S. DAILY SPORTS

South Africa: Bryan Habana backs Blitzboks to achieve Paris 2024 males’s sevens


Bryan Habana says South Africa should return to their core rules with a purpose to qualify for the boys’s rugby sevens match at this yr’s Olympic Video games.

Kenya beat the Blitzboks to a spot in Paris in African qualifying, however the reigning Commonwealth champions have one other likelihood to guide their place by way of a 12-team match in Monaco this weekend.

Nevertheless, solely the winners of the occasion can be heading to the French capital subsequent month.

Rugby World Cup winner Habana was a part of the South Africa sevens set-up earlier than the game made its debut on the 2016 Olympics, however didn’t make the ultimate squad which took bronze in Rio de Janeiro.

“It has been a wierd outdated season for the Blitzboks,” Habana, 41, informed BBC Sport Africa.

“There’s been a change of administration, and it is all the time tough in any transition interval to attempt to hold the consistency of success.

“In the event that they play to the most effective of their talents, given the expertise, ability, management and training that we now have inside that group, they’re greater than succesful sufficient to qualify for the Olympics.”

South Africa’s males have been among the many most constant performers on the world sevens circuit, with three titles and 6 second-placed finishes between 2012-13 and 2021-22.

But the departure of long-serving coach Neil Powell on the finish of 2022 led to a drop-off in outcomes.

Philip Snyman changed Sandile Ngcobo as coach in March, and the Blitzboks ended the SVNS tour in seventh place for the second successive season – with their sole sequence win in the latest marketing campaign coming in Dubai final December.

“Neil Powell laid an unbelievable basis together with his workforce for the higher a part of 10-12 years,” Habana stated.

“I believe whenever you lose somebody like that, in case you actually simply take a look at Manchester United and what’s occurred publish Alex Ferguson, it is actually tough to be sure that that transition is pretty much as good as attainable.

“Quite a lot of the gamers who have been instrumental in successful Commonwealth gold have since moved on into the 15s format of the sport.”

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