And Powell is “home-schooling” the squad at their base in Stellenbosch during the day – and for the last couple of weeks, also during evening classes, albeit of a technological nature.

Come 18h00 every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, the theory of breakdowns, attack patterns, kick-off variations and running lines are discussed during virtual meetings.

The next day, those discussions are put into practice on the field, followed by a written “test” on the particular drill or play.

Expect a squad with a number of law, architectural and commerce students amongst them to do well, but Powell is taking nothing for granted.

“Our focus thus far has been on conditioning and individual skills improvement and I am pleased with our progress in that regard,” Powell said.

“We will move a bit more into our structures and plays on the field; for now it was important for us to get the players to understand the theory of it first.

“So, we do spend some time in the boardroom to explain and make sure the players understand those processes. That will hopefully speed up their understanding when we execute that on the field.

“We are still way off from competing, so are using the time we have to make sure the individuals are improving, as that will benefit the squad in the end,” the Blitzbok coach added.