Ex Blitzbok coach Treu launches high-performance app that helped Pumas win Currie Cup

Pathfinding former SA Sevens head coach Paul Treu has taken his rugby and sporting nous to the tech world, developing a wellness and high-performance app that helped the Pumas win the Currie Cup.

Treu has largely been credited with transforming the Springbok Sevens' culture, picking up from Chester Williams, and turning the previously parochial version of the game into a truly professional and high-performance setup.

Treu, the current head coach of UWC Rugby, holds a master's degree in sports directorship from the Manchester Metropolitan University. He has not rested on his laurels and wants to impact sport in a way not many former players and coaches do.

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Treu said he was inspired to create the application called PhasePlay.io by his desire to learn about players and systems constantly.

"It's about learning. That's what inspires me," Treu said.

"Being in the Sevens environment for so long, the speed at which you learn is so critical because you don't have any time to waste.

"As soon as new players come in, they need to grasp new concepts and to understand new systems and processes, especially when it comes to technical awareness and those kinds of things.

"It's all about accelerating that learning curve.

"Football is way, way ahead. Other sports like the NBA basketball and the NFL, they’re also way ahead of where rugby is supposed to be."

The app has already shown its benefits.

The Pumas, who stunned Griquas in Kimberley during this year's Currie Cup final, used it in its development phase.

Other teams have hopped on board the app, which has attracted overseas and local attention from high schools and universities.

Springbok assistant