Fiji a bridge too far for brave Blitzboks

• Pacific Islanders seven points ahead of SA on standings with just one tournament to go

The Blitzboks’ hold on the World Sevens Series title is almost over with Fiji beating SA 21-17 in the final of the London leg of the series on Sunday.

The win pushed Fiji’s lead to seven points on the standings over SA with the final leg in Paris to come.

For the Blitzboks to retain the title now Fiji would have to fail to make the semifinals in Paris and the Blitzboks would have to win. Given Fiji’s dominance this season that is an unlikely scenario.

It was a courageous effort from the Blitzboks in London, especially as they lost Branco du Preez and Cecil Afrika to injury on day one. That certainly played a part, but regardless — SA didn’t have enough firepower against the form team of season.

“I was very happy with the team’s performance, especially after losing to Samoa in our final match on day one and losing Branco and Cecil,” said coach Neil Powell.

“We came into day two with only 11 players and the guys showed a lot of heart out there. Not just in the final against Fiji, but in the semifinal against England the quarterfinal against New Zealand.

“We have heart and for us as a team it’s all about trying to win the inches and take away inches from teams. We also try to make sure that everybody understands their roles and responsibilities on the field at all times, especially in defence.

“That is something we pride ourselves on, but against Fiji we made a few mistakes.”

After topping their pool on day one, the Blitzboks faced NZ in the last eight on Sunday and had to fight all the way to the final whistle to secure a 14-5 win to advance to a meeting with hosts England in the last four.

Seabelo Senatla scored his 221st World Series try during the 29-19 win over England, moving him to fourth on the all time scorers list.

Coach Gareth Baber complimented the Blitzboks. “We’ve tried to emulate what SA did last year in terms on the consistency,” Baber said. “They pushed us all the way. By the bounce of the ball, it could have gone the other way. We’re in a good position now.”

/AFP Try time: Stedman Gans goes over with Phil Burgess on his back in the Blitzboks’ semifinal win over England. Gans scored against Fiji in the final though it was not enough to avoid defeat.