Blitzbokke win consolation bronze medal

RIO DE JANEIRO: Bronze will never be gold. But the South African Sevens side deserve some praise for the way they bounced back from their semi-final disappointment to beat Japan 54-14 in the bronze-medal match at the Olympic Games in Rio.

The Blitzbokke let their golden opportunity slip through their fingers in their last-four clash against silver medallists Great Britain, when they squandered many try-scoring opportunities that would have secured them a final berth against Fiji.

The disappointment was clear on their faces after that 7-5 defeat, and it would have been tough for them to lift themselves for the game against Japan.

But the South Africans were clinical and swept aside the Japanese and made their intentions clear with two quick tries by Juan de Jongh and Rosko Speckman in the opening minutes of the match.

And, even though Japan scored two tries of their own in the first half, there would be no repeat of the shock result in Brighton at last year’s 15’s World Cup in England.

Speckman then scored another one soon after to make it 21-0 to the Blitzbokke. Japan scored their first try with a minute left in the first half when their captain, Yusaku Kuwazuru, profited from a top line-out move.

They scored again straight after half-time to make it 21-14 after Kazuhiro Goya touched down. However, they wouldn’t get another try, never mind the ball after Cecil Africa replied, almost immediately, with a break down the middle.

From then on it was oneway traffic, with Africa adding one more and Justin Geduld, Speckman and Cheslin Kolbe all getting a try each.

Earlier, the Blitzbokke’s dream of a gold medal was shattered in the semi-finals when they lost to Great Britain, who would lose 43-7 to Fiji in the final.

Poor finishing and a lack of composure on attack were the chief reasons for the Blitzbokke’s downfall, after they had some great chances to score tries and win the match.

The South Africans suffered a massive blow before the semi-final when they lost key speedster Seabelo Senatla, who was ruled out of the rest of the tournament after sustaining a wrist injury

KINGS PARK TEAMS

Arendse, 13 JW Jonker, 12 Johnathan Francke, 11 Alshaun Bock, 10 Clinton Swart, 9 Poerie van Rooyen, 8 Jason Fraser, 7 RJ Liebenberg (c), 6 Wendal Wehr, 5 Jono Janse van Rensburg, 4 Mzanele Zito, 3 Stephan Kotze, 2 Marius Fourie, 1 Steph Roberts. 16 AJ le Roux, 17 Devon Martinus, 18 Liam Hendricks, 19 Sias Koen, 20 Steph Vermeulen, 21 Renier Botha, 22 Elgar Watts. Eastern Province v

rugby but we also left a number of points on the table. I am pleased with the intent we showed, but we need to build on that and be more efficient as in the quarter-final match against Australia. And the Western Province man was sorely missed on the park, as his speed and finishing ability could have helped the team reach the gold medal match.

Speckman tried to step up in the pace department and produced two great breaks in the opening minutes of the encounter to give the Blitzbokke some momentum.

The Blitzbokke tried hard in the last two minutes of the encounter, and they had two great opportunities in the dying minutes to score a try.

But they lacked the composure to win the match. Boland (Port Elizabeth, 5pm, SS1/CSN); Sharks v Griquas (Kings Park, 71.0pm, SS1/CSN)

Griffons v Valke (Welkom, 3.45pm); SWD v Welwitchias (George, 5pm); Leopards v Border (Potchefstroom, 5pm)

Golden Lions v Pumas (Ellis Park, 3pm, SS1/M-Net); Free State v Blue Bulls (Bloemfontein, 5.10pm, SS1/M-Net)

we progress through the Currie Cup. It is not a long competition this year, and if we want to win the Cup we need to improve each week.”