Blitzboks coach Powell bemoans 'worst performance' of career after France nightmare

The Blitzboks suffered a third defeat at the France Sevens in Toulouse on Sunday in what coach Neil Powell described as “the worst performance at a tournament in my career”. 

The South Africans lost 24-21 to Scotland in the 9th place semi-final, having lost to Ireland and Samoa in their pool fixtures on Friday and Saturday respectively.

Their only victories were against Spain and Japan as the South Africans failed to progress to the quarter-finals and and had their worst finish since Powell took charge back in 2013.

“This is the worst performance by the team since I took over, no doubt, and there is very little to be happy about in this performance we delivered here,” said Powell.

“The team did not function as a unit. That is very disappointing.” 

Powell, who will be looking to find remedies in the next week as the team prepare for the London Sevens next weekend, was scathing in his assessment of what he saw in France.  

“There were some good moments, but the mistakes are killing us,” he said. 

“It is almost as if the players had forgotten what their roles and responsibilities are, and that put the system under pressure. Every player – and management as a matter of fact – will have to look at themselves seriously and ask why they are not contributing as they were earlier in the season. 

“It is a tough series, and a number of teams did not perform as expected. New Zealand also did not get out of their pool and Argentina and Australia both lost their Cup quarter-finals. It is almost as if the teams are becoming a bit jaded. That certainly is making the World Series race very interesting.” 

The Blitzboks (116) conceded their World Series lead to Argentina (118), who moved past them this weekend, but Powell remains positive that