'It is a massive honour': South Africa confirm head coach

South Africa Rugby have appointed Phillip Snyman as the new head coach of the Springbok Sevens after guiding the side to an Olympic bronze medal in Paris.

Despite winning the first leg of the HSBC SVNS Series in Dubai last season, South Africa sacked head coach Sandile Ngcobo in March following poor showings in Vancouver and Los Angeles, with his assistant Snyman promoted to the role on an interim basis.

Performances steadily improved under the former Springbok Sevens captain, with sixth-place finishes in Hong Kong, Singapore and the Grand Final in Madrid.

Most importantly, South Africa won the World Rugby Sevens Repechage repechage in June in Monaco, qualifying for the Olympics the following month.

While in Paris, Snyman steered his country to a bronze medal, which included a heroic victory over New Zealand in the quarter finals.

He has now been rewarded with a contract until the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

“It is a massive honour to be appointed as full-time head coach, a position that demands the best of what the Blitzboks can be and a position I always aspired too when I became a coach,” said Snyman.

“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.

“I can’t wait to get going and I would like to thank SA Rugby’s leadership for the trust they have placed in me. 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.”

SA Rugby CEO Rian Oberholzer added: “The way Philip turned around the fortunes of the Blitzboks in a short time was remarkable and speaks volumes of his abilities as a coach.

“Their performances in Monaco and Paris showed that he can get the Blitzboks back to their former glories and we are pleased to have him on board.

“As a former captain, Philip brings deep institutional knowledge of the Springbok Sevens with him, having played in 62 world series events, two Rugby World Cup Sevens tournaments and a Commonwealth Games where the team won gold.

“Philip is also the only person in the game who has won medals as a player and a coach at the Olympics.”