24 June 2014
Springbok Sevens coach Neil Powell has expressed his satisfaction with his squad following a successful defence by South Africa of the Roma Sevens tournament title in Rome, Italy over the weekend.
They won the tournament in convincing fashion to retain the title they won as part of their 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens preparations last year.
Commonwealth Games preparation
This time around, they were using the tournament as part of their preparations for the Commonwealth Games in Scotland next month.
Powell’s squad was made up of some fringe players, together with regulars on the HSBC Sevens World Series along, including senior playmaker Cecil Afrika, who is on the comeback trail from injury.
‘He is on track’
“Cecil came through the tournament well and l am pleased that he is on track for the Commonwealth Games,” Powell said in a statement on Monday.
“We managed his game time, as he last played in Hong Kong in March, but I took confidence from his performance.
“The fringe players in the squad also showed up well. We had some decent opposition in the form of national teams, such as Italy, Brazil and Georgia, so it was a good test for our players.”
Results
The South Africans won all three pool matches on day one and kept on winning during the knock-out stages on day two.
They won the final 42-5 against 7 SIRS, an international invitational team, after beating Switzers Rugby 29-0 in the quarterfinal and Midi Olympique Froggies 24-7 in the semifinal.
“The idea was to test our depth, play against some quality teams, and try some new elements in our game. It all worked out fine,” Powell said.
SAinfo reporter
