Phillip Snyman has been rewarded with the permanent gig as Springboks sevens rugby coach after leading the side to a bronze medal at the Olympic Games in Paris.
The former Blitzbok captain took over as temporary head coach from Sandile Ngcobo earlier this year and first led the team qualify for the Paris showpiece via a Repechage Tournament in Monaco.
In Paris, his team also had to fight back from two pool stage losses to Ireland and New Zealand, to reach the bronze medal playoff game where they beat Australia 26-19 at Stade de France.
Snyman, however, says winning bronze in Paris has only papered over the cracks of a Blitzboks team that are currently seventh in the world for the past two seasons and explains: “There is a lot of work to be done, despite our recent results. We are still way off being a top-three team and we will be working hard to get back to that position.
“We have a solid core of players, and I will be looking at ways to strengthen our player base and depth to such an extent that we will be contending for titles and medals regularly.”