Last week we reported on Springbok Sevens mentor Paul Treu‘s regular article on www.irb.com

In it the BlitzBokke coach wrote of his annual professional development trip further south (in fact on the other side of the globe) to, Melbourne, Australia.

“Every year I go on at least one professional development trip and, even as I write this column, I’m sitting waiting for a flight to Australia where I’m going to be shadowing some of the country’s best sports coaches in Melbourne.” Paul wrote in his article for the International Rugby Board (IRB).

He continued: “The city is an unbelievable place to visit but it’s also a stronghold of AFL (Australian Rules Football) and I’m going to be visiting three clubs, Collingwood, North Melbourne and the Melbourne Demons, to share the knowledge and experience of their coaches.”

The coach then expanded on his decision to visit the Melbourne Storm Rugby League club.

“There is so much that Rugby Union and Sevens in particular can learn from other sports like these. Whether you’re coaching rugby, AFL, Touch or hockey the same underlying principles come into play: you have to make your first-up tackles, you have to defend well, you have to work hard, you have to be organised and you have to make sure that everyone knows their own role in the team or the squad.”

He added: “More specifically I’ll be looking at the aerial prowess of the AFL players and see how I can relay that back to my Sevens team for restarts. We’ve seen how Samoa and Australia have really grabbed the ascendancy in that area on the Sevens World Series so I’ll be interested there.”

Here at BlitzBokke.com HQ, what we like about Paul is that he is a coach who (1) is able to learn from anybody and any code of sport in order to improve himself as a coach and (2) apply this knowledge to the benefit of his team and his charges.  He has been doing this for a number of years since taking charge of the BlitzBokke and we salute him for it.

In his article Treu concludes:

“More than anything, though, it’s an opportunity to learn, to grow as a coach and to expand on the skill set that I can then impart onto some of the most exciting, young and talented players South African rugby has to offer.  I will try anything once, if it helps us in our quest for Commonwealth gold. Against all the odds…”

We’re right behind you Paul.

Coach Paul Treu with his extended family in Melbourne, flanked by wife Jody and daughter Skyler (Pic: Katarina Knowles)

When asked recently about suggestions for a technical contributor to a rugby website, the name Dallen Stanford came to mind.

Fortunately the person who asked also had the same former USA Eagles Sevens player in mind and the deal was signed, sealed and today it delivered… the first online contribution that is.

Dallen “interviews” another Eagles strongman Todd Clever (Pic: Dallen Stanford/Pakis Corner)

Dallen “Paki” Stanford is a former UCT Under21 skipper who, to make a loooong story short, also played for the USA 7s side – playing in 54 matches through his career spanning from 2006 to 2009, including 13 IRB World Series tournaments and the 2009 Sevens World Cup.  You can catch the loooong version on his website here.

Rugby IQ has secured the considerable talents of Dallen and the first of his series of position-specific articles appeared on the Rugby IQ website today. Round one is an in-depth look at props in the game of Sevens with great video examples (here).

Dallen Stanford rates Frankie Horne as one of the BlitzBokke’s best props (Pic: Wessel Oosthuizen)

If, like me, you are trying to improve your own technical knowledge of the game of Sevens Rugby, you’ll do well to read Paki’s contributions on Rugby IQ.  His insight and knowledge has been gained through years of hard-slog and study and I look forward to the articles to follow.

Cheers Paki.

The Springbok Sevens training squad is hard at work at the base in Stellenbosch.  Coach Paul Treu will announce his final team for the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India on Monday 16 August while SASCOC will make an official announcement a week later.

Springboks on FaceBook posted the following pictures of the BlitzBokke traning camp in Cape Town:

UR7s.com today reported that BlitzBokke legend Marius “Shoes” Schoeman will lead English National Series champions ULR Samurai International at the upcoming Middlesex Sevens (August 14).

Marius (Shoes) Schoeman (Pic: SARU)

(Outsurance advert for South African internet traffic only, a click only will support this website)

You may remember that Shoes came out of retirement to form part of the victorious BlitzBokke side who won their first-ever IRB Sevens World Series title.

We hope that this ‘appointment’ means that the legend is not lost to the world of Sevens rugby and that he will still be able to plough back his extensive experience to the benefit of the Springboks’ international campaign.

Well done Shoes!

You can read the UR7s story right here

Now you see him, now you don’t….

Here is a movie clip we put together when Shoes first announced that he was retiring:

In a previous post, we introduced you to the team at Rugby IQ.

I just picked up this informative article by one of the Rugby IQ team members, Greg Commins on defence in Sevens rugby.

RugbyIQ Team Member Greg Commins (Pic: RugbyIQ)

As a way of educating all of us who support Sevens rugby but who may not have the technical knowledge of the game, we thought we’d duplicate it here on BlitzBokke.com.  Of course you can read the article on RugbyIQ right here.

Sevens rugby has a stigma attached to it that it’s all about attack and very little defense. This might have been true decades ago but the modern game of sevens has evolved and teams that are the most successful in the sevens arena focus allot on defense during training. In this article I discuss the most important defensive principles in sevens.

First Defense Then Attack:

Even the most average offensive team can score tries against top teams in sevens because there is so much space to exploit. Just because you have phenomenal attacking players does not mean you will win games. Just like it is in fifteens, the strongest defensive sides are usually the most successful. Teams build game plans around defense and in sevens this is exactly the same.

First get your defense patterns organized, are you going to use the 7-up or the 6-up with a sweeper? What is your shape out wide, are you teaching yours wingers to run an arc defense not being sucked in (I will discuss these defensive patterns in my next article), all of this is so important. Once you have your team running good solid defense then you can move onto offense.

Talk, Talk, Talk:

A quite team is a dead team! Communication is vital especially when there is acreage to be exploited on the sevens turf. It often happens in sevens that players end up one-on-one and this can lead to tries if others are not communicating as the player in the one-on-one cannot doubt for one second that he has support and can take care of the tackle and not worry about the other supporting attackers. Coaches need to enforce a high level of communication between players as this will lead to confidence in the team and a better structure in defense as players will know where there team mates are and work out what space needs to be shut down and what tackles to commit too.

Close Your Opponents Space Down:

There is enough space as it is on the sevens field so if you give your opponents more space it will lead to more tries against you I can guarantee that. Your team must be aggressive in the approach to shutting that space between them and their opponents. Be careful not to be over eager as this can lead to getting stepped and then all hell will break loose.

Practice good line speed, moving up together as one long chain that is impenetrable and when a player is close to the attacking ball carrier the defender must press the attacker to make a decision, don’t give the attacker time to think or play. The outside players must be aware of what is going on inside them as what often happens when there is good pressure on the inside is loose passes and in turn creates opportunities. Make your opponents play and force them to either run into a tackle contest where you can fight for and slow the ball down or force them to toss the ball out wide and give you intercept opportunities.

Watch The Middle:

The most deadly place to be broken on the pitch in fifteens and sevens is in the middle. If you are taken out wide cover defense can work across to catch the break, but if you are busted in the middle it is far easier and quicker for an attacker to get ahead of the cover defense. If a middle break occurs your opponents will also have options left and right not just inside like a wide break.

For these reasons your middle man needs to be solid in defense and your team should always be taught to guard the middle and if necessary give a little on the outside as they will have the touchline and a cover defense if there is a break out wide.

Posted by Greg Commins | rugbyIQ.com Technical Zone

Happy 92nd Birthday Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, grandfather of our proud nation.

We wish you health, happiness, peace, and lots of rest.

To: the ultimate Springbok Supporter

From: all of the others.

Marco Botha wrote the following story about the Springbok Sevens’ newest recruit Boom Prinsloo in the Afrikaans-language daily Die Burger.  “Boom” is the Afrikaans word for “tree” and like any of South Africa’s hardiest and strongest trees… so is Boom Prinsloo.

Boom Prinsloo (Pic: www.uv.ac.za)

Unfortunately for our international readers, the story is in Afrikaans.  For the sake of the BlitzBokke fans who didn’t read the article, we will reproduce it here:

Shimlas se Boom skiet wortel by Blitsbokke

2010-07-13 22:23

Marco Botha

Stellenbosch – Die vurige Boom Prinsloo van die Shimlas se naam is so sinoniem met hardekwas-Varsitybeker-rugby soos die Springbok Bakkies Botha s’n met tugverhore.

Gister het Prinsloo, vanjaar se uitsoekspeler in dié studentereeks, sy eerste tree hier saam met die Springbok-sewesspan gegee.

Die Blitsbokke se voorbereiding vir hul nuwe seisoen, waaronder die Statebondspele in Nieu-Delhi, Indië, in Oktober, het gister op dreef gekom.  Die nasionale breier, Paul Treu, het heelwat nuwe gesigte met kort- en langtermyndoelwitte betrek. Onder hulle tel einste Prinsloo.

Die Varsitybeker-reeks het sedert sy ontstaan in 2008 ’n stewige gros spelers vir rugby se daarnamaals opgelewer. En ondanks die Universiteit van die Vrystaat se wisselvallige vertonings in vanjaar se reeks, het Prinsloo hom weekliks op agtsteman as ’n stewige, dog ook vaardige baldraer, uitgesonder.

“Dit gebeur selde dat ’n mens ’n speler kry wat baie goed gekondisioneer is én die regte vaardighede vir sewes het,” het Treu gesê.  “Boom is een van daardie spelers, en sy naam is beslis op ons lysie vir die groep wat vir die Statebondspele oorweeg kan word.”

Sy bynaam is Boom om ander redes as sy lengte, maar fris is hy beslis – nes die gesoute Sewesbok Frankie Horn.

Treu se Suid-Afrikaanse span is in die Wêreldsewesreeks in 2009-’10 soms te lig gevind. Prinsloo bied dus op die fisieke front vir die Blitse welkome diepte.

Spoed

Wat á la Errol Tobias “spoed en nogmaals spoed” betref, kan Bernardo Botha van die Goue Leeus hom ook in die Statebond-groep bevind.  Hy is al ’n geruime tyd in Treu se planne. Maar hy oefen nog sonder ’n Springbok op sy trui – soos diegene wat nog nie in ’n amptelike wedstryd vir Suid-Afrika se Blitsbokke gespeel het nie.  Waarskynlik nie meer vir lank nie.

Met die oog op volgende jaar is ook Mark Esterhuizen, ’n bieliesenter van die Ikeys, AJ Koortzen van die Vrystaat, Lubabalo Mtembu van die o.20-Bokkies en Thom Seabela van die Blou Bulle die eerste keer ook betrek.

- Die Burger

The Springbok Sevens players reported for their first day back at the office yesterday where they started the first of a series of fitness and conditioning tests.

The testing took place at the Sports science Institute (SSISA) in the Cape Town suburb of Newlands, next to the iconic Newlands Rugby Stadium.

The Springbok Sevens players take to the bikes at the SS Institute (Pic: Springboks FaceBook Group)

BlitzBokke coach Paul Treu recently announced his first squad for the new season and the following players assembled at the SSISA yesterday:

Chase Minnaar, Frankie Horne, Chris Dry, Kyle Brown, Neil Powell, Paul Delport, Cecil Africa, Ryno Benjamin, Hoffman Maritz, Renfred Dazel (all SARU contracted),  Lubabalo Mtembu, Brian Shabangu (The Sharks), Boom Prinsloo (FS Cheetahs), Jacques Engelbrecht (SWD), Bernardo Botha (Golden Lions), Mark Esterhuizen (Ikeys), Siyanda Grey (EP), Tom Seabela (Blue Bulls).

Treu also announced the signing of 3 schoolboy-players who will join the BlitzBokke on SARU-contracts. However, William Small-Smith (Grey College and Free State), Craig Barry and Tshotsho Mbovane (both from Paul Roos) will officially start work on January 1, 2011 so as to allow them to finish their schooling.

The Springbok Sevens team will join Team South Africa for the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India in October while the 2010/2011 IRB Sevens World Series kicks off with the Dubai Sevens on December 2, 2010.

Four Emerging SA Sevens players and a member of the SA Under-20 team are included in a Springbok Sevens training group of 18 players that will assemble from tomorrow morning in Stellenbosch.

According to coach Paul Treu, the get together in Stellenbosch will kick-start his pre-season training schedule for the next IRB Sevens World Series and also the Commonwealth Games that starts on October 3 in India.

Brian Shabangu (The Sharks), Jacques Engelbrecht (SWD), Bernardo Botha (Golden Lions) and Siyanda Grey (Eastern Province) were all members of the Emerging SA Sevens team that recently lost in extra-time to hosts Kenya in the final of the Safaricom Sevens (formerly known as the Tusker Safari Sevens) in Nairobi.

Brian Shabangu (Pic: SARU)

Bernardo Botha (Pic: SARU)

And the good performance of Lubabalo Mtembu (pictured below) for the SA U20 team at the recently held IRB Junior World Championships in Argentina has been rewarded by a call-up to the Sevens training group.

Other newcomers to the training group are Boom Prinsloo (Free State Cheetahs), Mark Esterhuizen (UCT) and Tom Seabela (Blue Bulls).

The group will spend most of the next couple of days undergoing medical and fitness tests and then commence with a conditioning programme to get them in shape for on-field training from the start of August.

The Springbok Sevens training group to assemble from Monday in Stellenbosch:

Chase Minnaar, Frankie Horne, Chris Dry, Kyle Brown, Neil Powell, Paul Delport, Cecil Africa, Ryno Benjamin, Hoffman Maritz, Renfred Dazel (all SARU contracted),

Lubabalo Mtembu, Brian Shabangu (The Sharks), Boom Prinsloo (FS Cheetahs), Jacques Engelbrecht (SWD), Bernardo Botha (Golden Lions), Mark Esterhuizen (Ikeys), Siyanda Grey (EP), Tom Seabela (Blue Bulls).

Three of the most promising young players in the country have signed contracts to play  for the BlitzBokke for the next two years, the South African Rugby Union (SARU) announced today.

The trio of SA Schools stars are William Small-Smith of Grey College and Free State, Craig Barry and Tshotsho Mbovane, who both hail from Paul Roos and represented Western Province at the recent Coca-Cola Under-18 Craven Week in Welkom.

Welcome to the BlitzBokke family, Tshotsho Mbovane

Barry is an attacking fullback, while Small-Smith and Mbovane play at outside centre. They were selected for the SA Schools U18 team after shining for their respective provinces in Welkom.

All three players are products of the SARU U18 High Performance programme spearheaded by Herman Masimla. They will also represent the High Performance squad next week in three international fixtures against the U18 teams of France, England and Namibia.

The players’ two year contracts will start from 1 January 2011, giving them the chance to complete their final school year.

Newest BlitzBokke signing, William Small-Smith (Pic: sarugby.co.za)

The new Springbok Sevens contracted players were presented to the media during a press conference earlier today at the Sports Science Institute of SA Building in Newlands, where they were flanked by Paul Treu (Springbok Sevens coach) and Masimla.

BlitzBokke mentor, Paul Treu

Treu said the signing of the three schoolboy stars signify the introduction of a new career path for young professional rugby players in South Africa.

“It is crucial that we create opportunities for our many young promising players. South Africa is blessed with so much talent and not every youngster can break into the senior ranks. These three players represent the start of a new direction for us and I am confident that the High Performance programme will deliver many more players of their calibre in the future.”

“It would be great if we can go to the Olympics in 2016 and these three players are established players of the Springbok Sevens team,” said Treu.

Welcome to the BlitzBokke, Craig Barry (Pic: sarugby.co.za)

Masimla explains the purpose of the High Performance programme: “SARU has established a HP system that acts as a pathway that reaches from junior level right to the senior ranks. This player pathway is based on the long term athlete development model, where players are identified and kept in the HP system for as long as possible.”

The Springbok Sevens training squad assembles on Monday at their base in Stellenbosch.

Proud BlitzBokke Coach, Paul Treu with our newest signings.  Welcome Boys!  (Pic: Springboks on FaceBook)