Paul Treu thanked for services to SA Sevens rugby
The South African Rugby Union (SARU) on Tuesday thanked Paul Treu for his services to Springbok Sevens rugby and paid tribute to the contribution he had made to developing the seven-a-side game in this country.
SARU President, Mr Oregan Hoskins, confirmed that after long discussions with both Treu, players and other Sevens stakeholders a mutual decision had been reached to seek a new head coach for the Springbok Sevens team. Mr Hoskins and Jurie Roux, SARU CEO, met Treu on Tuesday to amicably conclude their discussions.
“Paul’s contribution to Sevens rugby in this country over the past decade has been outstanding,” said Mr Hoskins. “He has built the team and the brand of Sevens rugby through his passion and expertise and has made our Springbok team a regular contender for tournament and Series honours. He has established our Sevens programme and made an enormous contribution to the game.
“However, there comes a point where there is a need for renewal and in discussions with Paul and other stakeholders, there was a general sentiment that we had reached that point. Paul has other options, and we also had other roles in mind for him, but it was clear that a natural time had come for all parties to seek a new direction.
“We did discuss other alternatives to retain Paul at SARU but he has an understandable desire to go to the Olympic Games in 2016. We hope to see him working in South African rugby again in due course.”
Paul Treu said: “I have had a wonderful time at SARU and would like to thank the organisation for the opportunity they have given me. We have had some wonderful highs in the past 10 seasons and I hope I have added value to South African rugby.
“This was a decision I had thought long and hard about for some time and those close to me will know that it was something that I had agonised over. But I believed the time was right to move on – both for me and the team – and I wish them all success in the future.”
Paul Treu was appointed as Sevens coach in 2004 after representing the team from 1999 to 2002 at sweeper and later as captain. As coach he led the team to the IRB World Sevens Series title in 2008/09 and won 14 tournaments on the HSBC Sevens Series circuit. He coached the team in three Sevens Rugby World Cups and took the team to bronze at the Commonwealth Games in India in 2010.
The Sevens programme will continue to be managed by Sevens manager, Sebastian Prim, with playing affairs being handled in the interim by Neil Powell and Vuyo Zangqa, who recently led the team to the World Games gold medal in Colombia.
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