Blitzboks have a few questions to answer with two legs to go

DURBAN: Fiji managed to make it three golds in a row in Singapore which put them ahead of South Africa for the first time in this season’s World Series. The Blitzboks were forced to settle for fourth spot in Singapore, their worst finish of the series, matching their performance in Las Vegas.

It puts a serious dent into the hopes of the Blitzboks defending their Championship Crown as the Fijian’s late rally seems to be tying in with the South Africans perhaps feeling a little fatigued.

Fiji have a four-point lead with only two legs remaining in the series, London and Paris. For the Blitzboks, there are a few questions that need to be answered as they are also currently in the throes of building up their depth and unearthing some stars.

To that end, they are also down a few key players with stand-in captain Kyle Brown and the explosive Rosko Specman dropping out due to injury. They have also lost the services of 15-man stars Seabelo Senatla, to the Stormers, and Kwagga Smith, to the Lions.

Still, despite the void left by such key players, youngsters like Zain Davids and Selvyn Davids are quickly making a name for themselves after being handed an opportunity to shine in Hong Kong, the previous tournament.

Day two for the Blitzboks yesterday did not go as well as their first day, but they did put on a brave performance.

First up, it was Kenya who needed to be felled, and they did so quite clinically, 24-12, thanks to a hat-trick from the speedster Siviwe Soyizwapi.

This win set them up for a tough semi-final as either New Zealand or Fiji would take their place opposite the Blitzboks. It ended up being Fiji as they dispatched New Zealand 24-19.

The Blitzboks came out firing against the Fijians and managed to get themselves into the lead, but, despite even losing a man towards the end of the match, the Islanders still managed to turn over a 10-point deficit to win 12-10.

That loss meant that Fiji would almost certainly overtake the Blitzboks at the top of the standings, but with the South Africans going down to England in the third-fourth play-off, 26-24, and Fiji winning a thrilling final against Australia 28-22, saw their new lead extended to four points.

SA coach Neil Powell said that although the outcome was not what they wanted, he was pleased with a number of aspects.

“We asked the players for three things – to bring energy, look after the system and put in the effort, and they did that,” said Powell. “We are very harsh when we evaluate ourselves and I am happy that they delivered on those things we wanted. We are still striving for the perfect game.”