South Africa 7s coach backs introduction of 15s stars

This content was originally posted in 7DAYS UAE website at: South Africa 7s coach backs introduction of 15s stars   Some critics say that bringing 15s stars into sevens just because it’s an Olympic year may cause some conflict within a squad, but for South Africa coach Neil Powell it can only be a positive thing. With sevens being introduced to the Olympic Games next year in Rio, many top players from the full code have expressed an interest in playing the shorter form of the game and in South Africa it’s no different. Springboks stars Francois Hougaard and Juan de Jongh are already part of Powell’s squad and flying winger Bryan Habana, the joint record try scorer in Rugby World Cup history, is expected to join sometime throughout this series. The Blitzbokke are defending Dubai champions and Powell insists the 15s stars will bring added competition for places in the team. “Every player who comes in will bring something different,” said Powell. “I have been happy with the way Francois Hougaard and Juan de Jongh have fitted into our system on and off the field the past three weeks. But we still have to see what they are capable of against the best teams in the world, such as Fiji and New Zealand.” Powell revealed he spoke to his squad about opening up the opportunity for 15s players to play sevens. He added: “We prepped the guys for about year and we said it would be unfair to keep selections for the Olympics just for sevens players. “We needed to open it up and give the opportunity to 15s players. We want to be successful as a squad. “Every time we have brought 15s players in the quality of the training sessions have just got better because the guys know they can’t go back into their comfort zones and say ‘I am going to be selected, no matter what’. “That’s what happened in the past when the senior players have known there is no-one pushing them for their position. It’s great to have the 15s guys in there just to up the competition and it’s a challenge everyone accepts.”       Read the original story at: South Africa 7s coach backs introduction of 15s stars