Sloppy Blitzboks scrape through to Quarterfinals
WRAP: The Blitzboks produced a disappointing performance on the second day of the Hong Kong Sevens as they suffered a 10-12 defeat to Great Britain and also lost to France 17-19.
France produced a fighting second-half to keep the South Africans from scoring a single point. The loss means that France tops Pool B and the Blitzboks scrape through to the quarter-finals courtesy of points difference and finish second in the pool.
Ronald Brown opened the scoring for the Blitzboks in the middle of the poles, which he converted. Impi Visser soon followed with a try of his own before Selvyn Davids scored in the corner.
It was a sloppy performance from South Africa as they missed several try opportunities, losing the ball and advantage to a resurgent French outfit.
South Africa next face rivals Fiji in their Cup quarter-final game on Sunday at 05:50 SA time.
The final eight has been decided in Hong Kong 🙌#HSBC7s | #HK7s pic.twitter.com/wIaNyxgnps
— World Rugby 7s (@WorldRugby7s) November 5, 2022
Fiji – who are chasing a record-extending sixth straight title at Hong Kong Stadium – continued their perfect start to the tournament with two more wins, ran in five tries in a 35-21 victory over Spain, but did not have it all their own way.
They were far more convincing, though, in their third outing of the weekend, brushing aside the USA 24-0 to maintain their 100 per cent record in pool C, after thrashing Japan 59-12 on Friday.
There was a second defeat for Hong Kong in their debut appearance on the main Series, but they showed plenty of fight, scoring two tries in a battling 38-14 loss to heavyweights New Zealand.
Fresh from beating New Zealand in Friday’s penultimate game, Samoa secured another huge upset by coming from behind to beat Australia on Saturday.
They trailed the green-and-gold for much of their pool A match, but a late score from Vaa Apelu Maliko levelled it – before he scored another on the hooter to help Samoa edge the contest 22-17.
Meanwhile the Irish underlined their credentials with two more wins on Saturday, beating Kenya 28-12 in the opening game of the day, before battling past Argentina 21-17.
Day 2 Results
Ireland 19 – 17 Canada
Argentina 26 – 7 Kenya
USA 35 – 2 Japan
Fiji 35 – 21 Spain
France 45 – 5 Uruguay
South Africa 10 – 12 Great Britain
New Zealand 38 – 14 Hong Kong
Australia 17 – 22 Samoa
Kenya 14 – 19 Canada
Argentina 17 – 21 Ireland
Spain 33 – 19 Japan
Fiji 24 – 0 USA
Great Britain 17 – 19 Uruguay
South Africa 17 – 19 France
Samoa 31 – 15 Hong Kong
Australia 24 – 17 New Zealand
