SA slip further behind sevens pacesetters
THE Blitzboks failed to break their duck at the HSBC World Sevens Series’ marquee tournament in Hong Kong after losing to old foes New Zealand in the semifinals, but remain in the hunt for the overall series title.
In the 40 years of the sevens festival in Hong Kong, SA only have three runners-up finishes to show for their efforts, and yesterday, they had to settle for bronze.
With only three tournaments left in the 2015-16 World Series, the Blitzboks have fallen further behind leaders Fiji, who beat New Zealand 21-7 in the final to claim their 16th Hong Kong crown.
The Pacific islanders moved to 128 points on the standings followed by New Zealand with 123 and SA on 122. There is still a lot to play for in Singapore next week and Paris and London next month.
After losing their opening pool match against England, the Blitzboks rallied with easy wins over Russia (50-0) and Scotland (31-0) to reach the quarterfinals, where they thumped the USA 28-0.
The semifinal against New Zealand was perhaps the best between the two sides in terms of sheer drama. With scores locked at 7-7 at full-time, the match went into sudden death extra-time, but the intensity never let up.
Tim Agaba opened the scoring in the second minute of the game with an opportunistic try off a New Zealand mistake. The All Blacks drew level just before the break with a try by Lewis Ormond.
For the next 16 minutes, it was brutal defence as the teams punched and counter-punched, refusing to yield. The two increasingly exhausted sides slugged it out with New Zealand even overcoming a yellow card for Isaac Te Tamaki to cling on in difficult, slippery conditions.
Eventually, it was SA that blinked with only one minute of extra-time to go, when New Zealand’s Kurt Baker punted an audacious pass across field. Regan Ware collected to score. After superb SA defence, it took a moment of brilliance to break it.
SA beat Australia 14-12 for the bronze medal and 17 valuable log points, but for all their consistency this season, they have won only one title — on home soil in Cape Town in December.
Fiji and New Zealand have won three titles apiece and are edging ahead in the title race.
On the up side for the Blitzboks, flyer Siviwe Soyizwapi had an impressive debut tournament, scoring four tries in all, including a blistering effort in the third/fourth playoff against Australia.
“It was an amazing feeling,” Soyizwapi said. “First the honour to take the field for this team and then to score a try was very special.
“With world-class players around you, it is easy to score tries,” he said.