Nerves and anticipation accompany the Blitzboks as they head into a new era under new coach Sandile Ngcobo this weekend in Hong Kong.
The iconic Hong Kong Sevens resumes and kicks off the new HSBC World Series this weekend, with the Blitzboks moving on from a nine-year reign under Neil Powell, who has moved on to be the Director of Rugby at the Cell C Sharks.
So while there normally are a lot of unknowns at the start of a new season, this one for Blitzboks is particularly so as Ngcobo brings a relatively unknown factor to the shortened version of the game.
Those who know him well know that he is integrally involved behind the scenes anyway in both scouting for players and helping with training sessions, as well as being the SA Academy coach over the past few years.
But there is a big difference between working behind the scenes and now being thrust into the spotlight. Either way the fact that both SA Rugby’s High-Performance Manager Marius Schoeman and Powell recommended him as the natural successor to take the Sevens program forward says a lot.
Ngcobo has spoken about wanting to build on Powell’s legacy, but the first way of doing that is to perform in a tournament where the Blitzboks have traditionally failed. They’ve been in only one Hong Kong final, and ironically the closest they came other than that was when Schoeman and Ngcobo took the side in Powell’s absence in 2018 and were within a minute of making the final again, before Fiji broke their hearts.
So there is a lot of cause for optimism, a lot to look forward to and a new era that officially starts on Friday when the Blitzboks play the newest core team on the circuit, Uruguay at 12.05pm CAT in their opening game.
From there it is the newest collaboration in Great Britain in their second game and the dangerous French side in their third pool game before the knockouts start in earnest this weekend.
And Ngcobo will be keenly watched, as will the next generation of players and a host of stalwarts that he has taken to Hong Kong.
It would be unfair to expect him to perhaps shock the world in his first tournament, but the coach is ambitious and driven, much like Powell before him, and wants to keep the Blitzboks as one of, if not the, premier team in world sevens.
And it would be dangerous to bet against him.
BLITZBOKS FIXTURES
Friday
12.05 v Uruguay
Saturday
07.10 v Great Britain
11.05 v France