Blitzboks still top after loss

The Blitzboks maintained their strong lead at the top of the World Rugby Sevens Series, despite losing to Fiji in the final of the Hong Kong Sevens on Sunday.

A title at the Hong Kong National Stadium keeps on eluding the Blitzboks, but coach Neil Powell will be pretty pleased with his team reaching a seventh consecutive final of the 2016/17 season and more importantly, not giving Fiji or England any leeway on the overall series table despite a lop-sided 22-0 scoreline in the final.

South Africa came into the tournament with a 23-point margin over England in second and 26 over Fiji in third and will depart with that lead intact with only tournaments in Singapore, Paris and London left in the series.

Fiji’s win moved them into second place, 23 points adrift of the Blitzboks, with England losing ground in third, now 32 points adrift in third place.

In the final, a number of unforced errors and some traditional Fijian flair secured a third consecutive title for the Pacific team.

Strong defence by Fiji resulted in a number of breakaway tries and they never looked like surrendering their 12-0 lead at the break. Two more tries in the second half earned Fiji a well-deserved title.

The Blitzboks secured a seventh consecutive final in the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series when they beat USA 29-24 in extra time in the Cup semifinals.

Earlier in the day, they edged New Zealand 21-19 in the Cup quarterfinal.

The Blitzboks needed a try in extra-time to beat the US in their semifinal. With seconds left on the clock, Perry Baker scored for the US to tie scores at 24-all, but Madison Hughes could not convert for the win.

In extra time, South Africa attacked from deep and following a number of plays, Ruhan Nel raced in from 30 metre to score the try.