Blitzbokke keep their foot firmly in the door in Sevens
DESPITE their third place finish in Vancouver on Sunday – the sixth leg of the 2017-18 HSBC World Sevens Series – the Blitzbokke are still clinging to the top of the overall standings.
Olympic champions Fiji have closed the gap on South Africa to eight points with four rounds of the series to play after winning in Vancouver‚ but Neil Powell’s team proved their fighting qualities.
The Blitzbokke were ousted by Fiji (15-12) in the Vancouver semis but rallied to thrash the USA – winners in Las Vegas the previous week – 29-7 to take the bronze medal. South Africa were fourth in Vegas.
Although Powell has set the target of reaching the finals in both Las Vegas and Vancouver‚ it was always a lofty ambition considering his side went to North America without six veterans.
They also lost the experienced Werner Kok on day one in Nevada and Ruhan Nel on the first day in British Columbia and were forced to blood several youngsters over the past fortnight.
The fact that they reached the semis both weekends was a sign that there is depth in the South Africa Sevens programme and there is also confidence within the squad despite all the setbacks.
In Vancouver‚ the Blitzbokke beat Russia (38-7) and Scotland (21-0) in Pool play to secure a quarterfinal berth.
They lost their final Pool match 33-14 against New Zealand‚ which meant a last eight clash against Australia.
The Wallabies ran into a 19-0 lead at halftime and the game looked up for the Blitzbokke.
But in what might become the defining game of the campaign for a team of youngsters‚ the Blitzbokke rallied with four tries and a master-class in suffocating pressure‚ to win 24-19.
Dylan Sage scored the winning try two-and-a-half minutes after the final hooter sounded. It was a lesson in composure and belief in the team’s strategy.
Losing to Fiji by the narrowest of margins was a tough blow‚ but again the Blitzbokke picked themselves up to ensure they didn’t lose too much ground to their major title rivals by finishing third. Fiji beat Kenya 31-12 to take the title.
The Blitzbokke arrived in Vancouver with a 10-point advantage over New Zealand at the top of the standings and now lead Fiji by eight points.
South Africa have 109 points‚ followed by Fiji (101)‚ New Zealand (92) and Australia (84). The remaining tournaments are in Hong Kong‚ Singapore‚ London and Paris.
“We have very high standards and there were times when we did not achieve that‚” said Powell.
“We did play very well at times and especially the comeback against Australia was very pleasing.
“I thought we were out of it‚ to be honest. But the guys kept their composure.”
Powell was forced to face Fiji without Nel‚ ruled out through injury‚ with replacement player‚ Marco Labuschagne‚ coming into the team.
“Against Fiji we had the opportunity to beat them‚ but did not‚ so that is something we need to get better at. Against teams like that‚ you get that one chance and you must use it.
“Against the USA‚ it was the ideal opportunity to give the younger guys a chance and they responded very well. There were mistakes made‚ but that is how you learn and I was impressed by their efforts.”
Sage had a very strong tournament‚ not only scoring the most tries (4)‚ but also making the most tackles. Sage (18)‚ Branco du Preez (17) and Cecil Afrika (16) were the leading defenders.
Overall‚ South Africa made the most tackles at the tournament (136).
They also lead the series in tackles made this far (744) and lead the try-scoring stakes‚ with 148 tries‚ with Australia (139) and Fiji (137) next.