Blitzboks appoint former player Sandile Ngcobo to replace Neil Powell

The South African men’s national rugby 7s team, Blitzboks, have appointed Sandile Ngcobo as the new man to replace outgoing head coach Neil Powell with former captain Philip Snyman tasked with being his assistant from the 2022/2023 season.

The 33-year-old Ngcobo – who currently heads up the SA Rugby Sevens Academy and assisted Paul Delport with the Springbok Women’s Sevens at the Commonwealth Games and Rugby World Cup Sevens in recent months – will continue the same coaching pathway as Powell when he takes over the Blitzboks reins as head coach this week.

Both coaches bring years of experience as players. The two were part of the squad that won consecutive World Series titles in 2017 and 2018, with Snyman captaining the Blitzboks in both seasons. The duo then retired from the game and moved into coaching immediately.

Ngcobo, who hung up his playing boots in 2018 and then went straight into coaching as assistant at the SA Rugby Sevens Academy, was promoted to head coach at the Academy in 2021, while Snyman took up a coaching position at the SAS Sevens Academy, then assisted Uganda towards Commonwealth Games qualification before joining forces with Germany who he guided to their first Rugby World Cup Sevens qualification

SA Rugby president Mr Mark Alexander congratulated the coaching staff and wished them well for the future, with their first task being the opening tournament of the 2022/23 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series in Hong Kong on the weekend of 4-6 November.

“They have huge boots to fill, we all know that, but there are still a lot of intellectual property and experience left in the management structure of the Springbok Sevens set-up, so we do not foresee any lowering of standards or performances from the squad,” said Mr Alexander.

SA Rugby's Director of Rugby, Rassie Erasmus, said Ngcobo's elevation was important as it shows that the coaching pathways are sound: “To have esteemed former players swopping roles to coach the team they served for so long, is testimony of the great culture that was created over the years.

“We have seen what the Blitzboks are capable of – they have been one of the top three sides in the world consistently over the last decade or so. That did not happen by chance, as their success was built over a long period at their base at the Stellenbosch Academy of Sport.

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Ngcobo said his appointment was a massive opportunity: “I cannot give enough gratitude for the confidence that has been put into me and our team to take up the baton.

“The Blitzboks are indeed very close to the heart for all involved and our jobs will be to protect and grow the values of the badge and the brand. The work starts immediately as we have a warm-up tournament next weekend, so there is no time to sit idly and ponder.”

Ngcobo said he will sit with the rest of the management to clarify roles and responsibilities.

“I am not planning to make any drastic changes; we know what works,” he said. “The first challenge will be to look at the squad available and to start preparations for our first World Series tournament, which will be in Hong Kong early in November.”

Powell will formally leave SA Rugby's employment this week to join up with the Cell C Sharks, where he was appointed as director of rugby earlier this season.