Popular national rugby Sevens captain and coach, Paul Treu, has
coached the Springbok Sevens squad (known as the Blitzbokke) to a number of
victories including a World Series win in 2009. He’s revolutionised the way
Sevens is viewed in South Africa, and is focusing on building a strong squad
for the first inclusion of rugby Sevens as a sport in the 2016 Olympic Games.
In addition Treu and is a popular choice as a future backline coach for the
Springbok rugby squad.
Treu was born on 23 July 1971 in Swellendam at the foot of the
Langeberg mountains in the Western Cape, a two-to-three hour drive east of Cape
Town about half way between the mother city and George. He went to Bontebok
Primary School and matriculated from Swellendam Senior Secondary School before
completing his teacher’s diploma at the University of the Western Cape, his
honours at Stellenbosch University and his masters in educational psychology at
the University of Port Elizabeth.
After making his rugby debut for the South Western Districts’ Eagles
at the Bankfin Currie Cup in 1996 Treu made the Emerging Springboks squad in
1997, playing against the Lions. He played for the Northern Bulls and Vodacom
Eagles in 2000 and 2001 in the Super 12s and the Mighty Elephants in 2002 and
2003 before specialising as an international Sevens player and team captain.
Treu first played for South Africa at the International Rugby Board
(IRB) Sevens in Uruguay and Argentina in 2000. He represented South African in
the Rugby World Cup Sevens in Argentina in 2001 and the IRB Sevens in South
Africa and the Common Wealth Games Sevens in 2002.
In the 2003/04 season, while battling with a knee injury, the
international Sevens player, at short notice moved from being captain of the
Sevens Boks in one season to coach the next season, and quickly put the
experience that helped him earn more than 70 tries as a Sevens player to good
use.
In the fourth international game after Treu took over as coach the Sevens
Boks squad won the IRB tournament in Singapore. Treu went on to build squads
that won games in the US, Wellington, Dubai, South Africa, Australia, London,
Edinburgh and Paris. Under the former teacher’s leadership the Sevens Boks
managed to win at least one tournament in every series for several years in a
row after he took over as coach.
With a World Series win in the 2008/09 season Treu joined the ranks
as one of three coaches other than New Zealand’s Gordon Tietjens to have won a
World Series.
But Treu is possibly best known for having revolutionised Sevens
Rugby in South Africa. His vision for developing the game has resulted in a
permanent Sevens base camp in Stellenbosch and the contracting of full time
Sevens players. He was first (together with the South African Rugby Union) to
offer some Sevens players professional contracts to keep the in the game which,
along with his selection planning and coaching, has improved the quality of
players and the attractiveness of Sevens.
While the Springbok and Super 15 squads attract the top players,
Sevens is seen as a developmental tool for rugby talent, and Sevens is likely
to grow in popularity with the introduction of the first provincial Sevens
tournament in schools this year and the inclusion of Sevens in the 2016 Olympic
Games.
Since the 2009 World Series victory Treu lost a number of Sevens
team stalwarts and his current focus is to develop a strong young team for the
Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. He’ll need a squad ready by 2013 to play in the
qualifiers and will be putting together a strategic plan for 2016.
Known as a shrewd tactician, Treu is seen as a favourite to become
the new backline coach for the Springbok squad. He wasn’t available for comment
to confirm or deny persistent rumours, but In earlier interviews in the media
he has indicated that he is contracted to the Sevens squad until 2013 and
remains committed to the Blitzbokke until then. However, speculation about a
possible move is rife.
