Interim Springbok Women’s Sevens coach Renfred Dazel got the squad’s preparations underway on Monday when 16 players assembled at the Stellenbosch Academy of Sport for their first assessment camp for the 2022/23 season.
Seven of the players are first invites to the squad and Dazel was mindful of not overloading the newcomers with too much intensity and detail as they started preparations for tournaments in Dubai and Cape Town in December.
“The camp will pretty much be of a developmental nature as we need to get the new players up to the level of the more experienced players in the group,” said Dazel.
“We will start with the basics that will make them better sevens players, like catching and passing, which are fundamental skills in the game.”
With that in mind, Dazel roped in former Blitzboks great Cecil Afrika to assist him during the camp: “We don’t have much time before we travel for those tournaments, so I am grateful to have Cecil around, as he has played at the highest level and can relay all that knowledge onto the players.”
The Springbok Women’s Sevens will play two matches against Belgium on Friday, with the Europeans arriving at SAS for a training camp earlier in the day.
“We will slowly up the intensity and integrate the game plan and other principles during the week. For now, it is important to lay a good foundation for this group and by doing that, broaden the base of players who has the skills to play at international level,” Dazel explained.
For Springbok Women’s Sevens stalwart, Mathrin Simmers, the new players provide an exciting peak into the future of the team.
“It is nice to have a new crop of players here who could help take this team further,” said Simmers.
“They have been scouted because they offer some potential and it is great to have them here. It is pretty new for them I am sure, but the experienced players will also help in establishing a good environment where they can learn and get a feel of what it takes to play for this team.”
