Blitzboks take all the glory in City of Lights
THE BLITZBOKS last night ensured a remarkable double for South African rugby over England this weekend when they successfully defended their Paris Sevens title, the victory over England also meant that Neil Powell’s team retained their World Sevens Series title instead of Fiji who came into the final tournament in the No 1 spot.
All glory to a Blitzbok team that played poorly on day one in Paris and again in the quarter-final against Spain – they squeaked home with a sudden death try in extra time – but they saved their best for when it really mattered. In pouring rain in the final, England had little answer when the Boks produced a world-class performance from a world champion team.
The 2017-18 world title will mean that much more to the Blitzboks given that they only secured it in the last match of the last tournament in the 10-leg series.
The door to the Blitzboks retaining their world title was opened early yesterday morning when, in the first quarter-final, log leaders and favourites Fiji lost to England.
The Boks would ultimately make the Pacific Islanders pay dearly for that loss.
The Blitzboks began the final emphatically when one of the seniors, Werner Kok, rose to the occasion and powered past four defenders for the opening score.
The England reply was immediate, with wing Dan Norton sprinting half the length of the field before passing inside to Ollie Lindsay-Hague for the try, and a minute later Norton himself scored after a similar turn of pace. The Blitzboks bravely fought back and scored through Ryan Oosthuizen after the hooter had gone for halftime and the touchline conversion made it 14-14 at the break. The Boks struck first in the second half through the elusive Dewald Human, who found a gap and had the legs to outsprint the defenders. The Blitzboks extended their lead shortly after when they unusually took a shot at goal, Justin Geduld slotting the drop through the uprights for a 24-14 lead, and that would prove to be the final score.