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Cape Town - Springbok Sevens coach Neil Powell has revealed the words spoken to his team before their Commonwealth Games final victory over New Zealand in July.
The Blitzbokke defeated the four times champions 17-12 in front of a capacity crowd at Ibrox Stadium in Glasgow to win a historic gold medal at the Commonwealth Games.
They wrestled the title away from New Zealand in a memorable final and in the process handed the Kiwis their first ever defeat at the Commonwealth Games. The Springbok Sevens’ previous best attempts were two bronze medals.
According to the Springbok Magazine, Powell said the following to his team before the match:
“We’re not going to come short on this one. We need to be more desperate for the gold than they are. The team that wins the battle at the rucks will win the game and, lastly, let’s prevent them from doing their haka by taking home the gold!”
Powell said the team's focus will now shift to qualifying for the Rio Olympics in 2016.
“To do so we need to finish top four at the end of the series standings. The season will also be used to test some of the identified 15-man players to see if they will fit into our Sevens structure.”
The Blitzbokke defeated the four times champions 17-12 in front of a capacity crowd at Ibrox Stadium in Glasgow to win a historic gold medal at the Commonwealth Games.
They wrestled the title away from New Zealand in a memorable final and in the process handed the Kiwis their first ever defeat at the Commonwealth Games. The Springbok Sevens’ previous best attempts were two bronze medals.
According to the Springbok Magazine, Powell said the following to his team before the match:
“We’re not going to come short on this one. We need to be more desperate for the gold than they are. The team that wins the battle at the rucks will win the game and, lastly, let’s prevent them from doing their haka by taking home the gold!”
Powell said the team's focus will now shift to qualifying for the Rio Olympics in 2016.
“To do so we need to finish top four at the end of the series standings. The season will also be used to test some of the identified 15-man players to see if they will fit into our Sevens structure.”
