Will Blitzboks wrap it up in the City of Love?
AFTER such a successful season for the Blitzboks, it would be fitting for their fairytale year to come to a triumphant end in the City of Love.
The Springbok Sevens team have a chance of claiming the World Series crown, with the London leg remaining, if they can win in Paris this weekend.
Sitting on 157 points after eight legs, their nearest challengers, Olympic gold medallists Fiji, are 25 points back with 132 points.
It would need the Blitzboks to pick up 20 points to make it impossible to be chased down with one leg remaining and they can do this in Paris – but only with a win, which is worth 22 points.
It still seems likely that the Blitzboks will be crowned champions of this year’s series, having picked up four tournament wins and three runners-up medals. It was only at the last leg, in Singapore, where they failed to make the final.
With the series all but wrapped up for Neil Powell’s men – barring them failing to get 20 points over two tournaments and Fiji winning the last two – it would seem the race is more between those gunning for second, third and fourth.
England are third, only two points behind Fiji, while New Zealand are a further 20 points adrift and will want to keep ahead of the United States, who are nine points back in fifth.
Despite their strong showing in the series since its inception in 1999, the South Africans have only won it once, in 2008-09.
The domination of the Kiwis, who have 12 titles to their name, seems to be over with the new pretenders to the throne being Fiji, who have won the last two World Series.
It would be a special win for the South African Sevens team, especially in a season when they have seen their 15-man counterparts tumble down to number seven in the world rankings.
The Blitzboks picked up the winners’ medals in Dubai, Wellington, Sydney and Las Vegas, and being the professional side that they are, there will be every intention to wrap things up before London next weekend.