Blitzbokke in deep trouble
The Blitzbokke are in danger of missing out on automatic Olympic qualification after a dismal weekend at the Las Vegas Sevens saw them slip to fifth on the standings.
South Africa recorded their worst World Series result of the season – and their worst display since Glasgow in 2014 – by finishing joint-seventh with Australia.
As a result they only earned 10 log points and now have 67 points after five rounds.
That leaves them in fifth behind England who have 68 points while the US are surging ahead in the title race on 98 points after winning in Vegas.
It was the US’s fifth straight final of the season‚ but their first win of the campaign as they thrashed Samoa 27-0 in front of a boisterous home crowd at the Sam Boyd Stadium.
Earlier, the US beat New Zealand 24-19 in the semifinals to set them on the way to retaining their Las Vegas title.
The top four teams at the end of the 10-leg World Series gain automatic qualification to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. SA is now out of the top four for the first time since the 2011-12 season.
After a weekend‚ which saw them draw 5-5 with Chile and lose 29-12 to the US in the quarterfinals‚ the Blitzbokke lost their fifth place playoff 1412 against Fiji.
A slow start again forced the South Africans into catch-up rugby as Fiji scored in the opening minute to take a 7-0 lead.
Ryan Oosthuizen pulled one back three minutes later to cut the lead to two points‚ but Impi Visser was yellow-carded for a high tackle and Fiji exploited the numbers for a 14-5 lead at the break.
The second half saw some determined defence by SA and with a strong contribution on attack from the bench. JC Pretorius scored with a blistering run and when Selvyn Davids converted‚ making it a twopoint game with three minutes left. It went to the last play as the Blitzbokke searched for the winner‚ but it ended metres from the Fiji line where the South Africans were penalised while on attack.
Blitzbokke coach Neil Powell said the result was frustrating‚ but he did not fault the effort of the players.
“They gave it all out there and I am pleased with the effort‚” said Powell.
“We made some errors on attack‚ but I told the guys before the match that we should finish it knowing we executed and gave our all.
“It was a bit frustrating that we could not quite get the first one right. Our decision-making was lacking a bit in the final minutes.”
Powell said the experience gained by the youngsters such as Pretorius and Sako Makata will benefit the team: “The only way for them to become better is to play and learn and from that perspective‚ they got good game time this weekend.”
Siviwe Soyizwapi said the squad would digest what when wrong and come back stronger for Vancouver.