The Blitzboks have arrived safely in the USA after a 36-hour trip from Cape Town via London. They are keen to get their preparations going for the HSBC Las Vegas Sevens, the fifth tournament of 10 in the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series.
Springbok Sevens coach Neil Powell said it was good to finally arrive in Nevada after the long trip from South Africa, although their travel was a bit easier than last season.
‘It’s a tough trip, but luckily it was straight to Las Vegas from London,’ said Powell. ‘Last year we had to travel from London to New York to Phoenix and then only on to Las Vegas. This time was a little bit better, but it was still a 36-hour trip from leaving home till arriving at our hotel here in Vegas.’
Powell will ease the players into training this week. ‘I’m happy where we are with our preparations and will take it slow at the beginning of the week,’ said the Blitzbok coach.
‘Our first game, against Canada, is late on Friday (early Saturday morning SA time), which means that we can still have our captain’s run on the Friday morning.’
Powell arrived with a fit squad, something he is pretty pleased about. ‘The turn-around between the tournaments is quite short and the guys do pick up bumps and bruises, but I’m happy with the squad’s fitness. There are still one or two things we need to work on, but I am happy that we have enough time to sort out those small margins,’ said Powell.
The Blitzboks will face Canada (Saturday, 4.43am SA time), France (Saturday, 7.42am SA time) and Wales (Sunday, 2.08am SA time) in Pool A of the tournament.