Blitzboks’ stunning comeback triumph
Davids keeps his nerve to convert last-minute penalty as SA shock Fiji in Singapore
The Blitzboks scored 20 unanswered points in the second half of a dramatic Singapore Sevens final to beat Fiji 20-19 and secure their second win of the season. A last-minute penalty by Selvyn Davids sealed an exciting comeback to add to SA’s Vancouver title earlier in the season.
The Blitzboks scored 20 unanswered points in the second half of a dramatic Singapore Sevens final to beat Fiji 20-19 and secure their second win of the season.
A last-minute penalty by Selvyn Davids sealed an exciting comeback to add to SA’s Vancouver title earlier in the season.
Victory cemented their place in the top four on the standings.
SA are now on 121 log points‚ 14 clear of fifth-placed England in a race for an automatic Olympic qualification place.
The Blitzboks were in top form all weekend‚ winning six out of six matches but it looked like their 100% record was to be undone by Fiji‚ who ran into a 19-0 halftime lead in the final.
The islanders overpowered the Blitzboks at the breakdown while SA were guilty of missing tackles. It allowed the speed and power of Fiji to dominate the early exchanges.
After halftime though the Blitzboks managed to secure some possession with the impressive Werner Kok setting the tone with more big tackles and effective breakdown work.
New sevens star Kurt-Lee Arendse scored soon after the break after intense Blitzbok pressure. Although the conversion was unsuccessful the momentum of the match switched and from the restart Fiji were under pressure again.
Kok won a breakdown penalty and the exciting Angelo Davids scored after running on to a perfectly weighted kickpass from Justin Geduld.
He was late-tackled after scoring and Fiji were given a yellow card.
It was a crucial moment in the match and with the numerical advantage the Blitzboks manipulated space and numbers to allow Ryan Oosthuizen to score to draw SA to two points of the lead.
With less than a minute on the clock and Fiji under pressure close to their own line again‚ the Blitzboks earned a penalty. Davids landed it to put SA in front for the first time in the match.
But there was still a restart to come and Fiji secured possession and tried to find space out wide. Inexplicably they kicked ahead but Davids was sweeping for the Blitzboks. He hoofed the ball out to give SA a famous win and their second victory over Fiji in Singapore after beating them 17-7 in a Pool match.
Earlier the Blitzboks won their quarterfinal 21-12 against Samoa before beating World Series leaders the US 24-12 in the semi-final.
ALTHOUGH THE CONVERSION WAS UNSUCCESSFUL THE MOMENTUM OF THE MATCH SWITCHED AND FROM THE RESTART FIJI WERE UNDER PRESSURE