SILKY SEVENS SKILLS
STICK: BOK BACKLINE COACH IS A FAN OF WHAT THESE PLAYERS CAN OFFER Strong belief that the shortened version of the game provides a good skills foundation for XVs rugby.
There have been a large number of players who have graduated from the Springbok Sevens side into the national 15-a-side team, but only three in the current squad preparing for the British and Irish Lions series.
But loose forward Kwagga Smith and backline coach Mzwandile Stick both believe the shortened version of the game provides a great skills foundation for the major format of rugby.
Smith, Cheslin Kolbe and uncapped wing Rosko Specman are the Blitzbokke in the current squad, but there have been 60 players in total who have played for both national rugby teams, including 13 World Cup winners.
“Sevens is a really good basis but you do need to learn quickly when you get to the Springboks. It’s so good to have that base when you are younger and I believe it’s a big advantage. You see someone like Rosko Specman has performed really well in XVs and now he’s doing well here in camp. He has a good mindset and is training hard. We also have Cheslin Kolbe, who is now one of the best wings in the world,” Smith said.
Stick, who has a major focus on the skills and vision of the Springbok team, played 37 events for the Blitzbokke between 2003 and 2010, and is understandably a fan of what those players can bring to the party.
“I’ve got a soft spot when it comes to Sevens players. It’s very good to see the connection between the XVs and Sevens game. You look at someone like Cheslin Kolbe coming through that system and he’s now one of the best rugby players in the world. You look at Rosko Specman and how good he was in Super Rugby.
“It’s actually good to see that the guys from the Sevens system are making it. In the past, it was always a matter of size being the reason they’re sidelined. Gone are those days now and guys are playing with a big heart. You can see how well the likes of Kolbe are really playing the game and it shows that size doesn’t matter,” Stick said.
Heinrich Brussow is another of those who progressed from international Sevens rugby to stardom with the Springboks and the way he pounced and swarmed all over the ball the last time the British and Irish Lions were here in 2009, it is no surprise that under the Chinese Zodiac, he was born in the Year of the Tiger (July 1986).
Smith, who played 32 events for the Blitzbokke, is hopeful of doing a similar job.
“I was watching that series in high school in Middelburg and I remember Heinrich did so well, he was one of my role-models, he performed really well in that series. I am going to try and get up to his standards, but also have my own assets,” Smith said.