Sandile Ngcobo ascends to SA Sevens head coach gig: Standard of perfection will remain

SA Sevens Academy authority Sandile Ngcobo has made it clear that the standard of perfection instilled by his predecessor will be uppermost in his way of coaching as he prepares for his new role as Blitzboks coach.

On Thursday, Ngcobo was unveiled by SA Rugby as the man to take over from Neil Powell. His right-hand man is former captain Philip Snyman.

Ngcobo, part of the Sevens setup since 2015 has been part of the system which has been training and preparing players on his watch for elevation into the Blitzboks system, together with high-performance manager Marius Schoeman.

Sport24 revealed on Wednesday that other names that were in the mix for the position included Powell's assistant coach Renfred Dazel, as well as Women's Sevens head coach Paul Delport, both established former Sevens internationals.

"It's a privilege and honour to be trusted with leading our country and our system," Ngcobo told reporters on Thursday.

"I would like to thank Saru and Marius Schoeman for backing us (and Philip) with leading the team. It means a lot."

Ngcobo takes over at a time when the Blitzboks have struggled for any measure of consistency. Their World Cup performance just last weekend could only see them finish seventh. 

His first outing on the Sevens World Series circuit will be in November when the Hong Kong Sevens take place.

"The first thing is to make sure our corner stone is our academy and make sure they are at a certain level to make sure the Sevens coaches have a bigger pool for selection to ensure whoever makes the step-up is ready and continues with the standard," Ngcobo continued.

"There's a standard of how we do things and level and that’s perfection. The result takes care of itself once the processes are functioning."

Ngcobo