SA Rugby seek new women’s Sevens coach following Delport’s departure

SA Rugby are looking for a new coach for the Springboks women’s Sevens team following the resignation of Paul Delport.

Delport, who was in charge of the women’s Sevens team from 2017 and most recently coached the side at the World Cup in Cape Town, won the Rugby Africa Women’s Sevens Cup three times with his team.

“We want to thank Paul for his coaching tenure, he will be missed and hopefully he will not be lost to rugby completely,” said SA Rugby president Mark Alexander.

“Paul has played a huge role in South African rugby, first as a player at age-group level – where he captained the SA Under-19 and Under-21 teams – and later as a Blitzbok player, where he was also captain of the national team.

“His coaching ability was soon recognised, hence his elevation to SA Rugby Sevens Academy coach and then the coach of our national women’s sevens team. We want to thank him for his massive contribution in three different national set-ups. Not many can say that.”

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Delport handed in his resignation earlier this month following the Rugby World Cup Sevens tournament and said he has no regrets.

“I had a wonderful time working with an amazing bunch of players,” said Delport.

“It is a pity we could not quite complete our run to push for core status in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic, but that is life.

“I was privileged to coach some exceptional athletes, worked with great people and make friends all over the world. I wish the team all the best going forward and hope they get all the support needed to become a full-time professional set-up again.”

‘Transition’

SA Rugby’s High Performance Manager for Women’s Rugby, Lynne Cantwell, said it is important for the momentum picked up by the Springbok Women’s Sevens to be sustained, adding that an announcement on Delport’s successor will be made in due course.

The women’s sevens programme was revived in January and the team played in five tournaments this year, with two more due for December, when they will play in the Emirates Dubai Sevens International Invitational and the HSBC Cape Town Sevens a week later.

“We are working closely with the Rugby Department at SA Rugby and the Springbok Sevens programme to ensure there is an interim coaching plan in place to help transition between cycles as best we can,” said Cantwell.