World Championship: BlitzBoks bounce back after Great Britain shocker
DAY ONE WRAP: The BlitzBoks delivered one of their worst performances of the 2026 season in their HSBC SVNS Bordeaux opener on Friday and then bounced back to the standards set earlier in the season in their second match to restore some dignity, pride and momentum into Saturday.
They will face Fiji at 11.06 (SAST) in a Pool A decider.
*Also read: World Championship: Tough start for BlitzBok Women
The BlitzBoks lost 14-19 in extra time to 12th-placed Great Britain in their opening match and then totally outplayed Kenya, currently in eighth place, 26-5 to restore their status as potential HSBC SVNS World Championship winners.
Against Kenya, a Shilton van Wyk try opened proceedings to give them a 5-0 lead in the opening minutes.
The second try was even better on the principles of sevens – support runners, working off the ball and then speed.
Quewin Nortje and Van Wyk, the two quickest players in the team, used their pace and power to secure the ball to the outside, with Van Wyk dotting down. At the break, the BlitzBoks held all the momentum and a 12-0 lead.
The second half continued in the same fashion, with South Africa on the attack and Kenya starting to feel the physical approach of their opponents.
The next try belonged to Nortje, who ran onto a looping Ricardo Duarttee pass from a scrum, and the conversion took their lead to 19-0.
Nortje added a second, this time down the blind side from a scrum, with the wing’s pace and the speed of Duarttee’s pass in harmony.
Kenya scored in the final play of the match, finally getting some rhythm on their attack, but by then the horse had bolted, was calmed and had a nap.
Continues below…
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The first game on the opening day was a totally different story, though, as the BlitzBoks looked fast asleep in starting their final thrust towards the title, losing 19-14 to Great Britain.
The match went into extra time after scores were tied at 14-14 at the end of regulation play. Extra time went on for another three minutes.
The inclusion of Darcy Graham, who is Scotland’s most prolific try scorer in Tests, boosted the UK squad, and it was clear why. Graham bossed the BlitzBoks, who delivered a very subdued effort, almost as if their minds were somewhere else.
GB scored two quick tries, with the first coming after a long attack, with the BlitzBoks’ defence found wanting.
A forward pass fluffed a promising BlitzBoks attack, and as soon as GB were back in possession, Graham crashed through some weak defence to score a second try under the sticks, and suddenly GB were 14-0 up.
To make matters worse, Jayden Nell had to leave the field after he attempted a tackle after a fluffed line-out throw, resulting in a long stoppage of play as Nell needed to be carted off.
That shook the BlitzBoks into action. GB had a player yellow-carded and, in that time, the BlitzBoks scored twice, both times via Duarttee.
The first came just before the break, resulting in a 14-7 scoreline at halftime, and the second shortly after the restart to level the scores.
The first try came when the BlitzBoks played the numbers, and the second when Duarttee intercepted and ran 60 metres to score. He converted both his tries as well to make it 14-14.
Sebastiaan Jobb was then yellow-carded, but the Blitzboks managed to keep GB out.
The final three minutes were tense and dramatic. The Blitzboks were given a second lifeline when a GB try was ruled out by the TMO, and extra time was called.
Duarttee then turned villain when he was sent to the sin bin for a tip tackle, which gave GB the numerical advantage to score the match-winning golden points.
South Africa 14-19 Great Britain
Scorers:
For South Africa:
Tries: Ricardo Duarttee 2
Cons: Duarttee 2
For Great Britain:
Tries: Marcus Kershaw, Darcy Graham, Finley Lloyd-Gilmour
Cons: Kaleem Barreto
South Africa 26-5 Kenya
Scorers:
For South Africa:
Tries: Shilton van Wyk 2, Quewin Nortje 2
Cons: Ricardo Duarttee 3
For Kenya:
Try: George Ooro Angeyo
Men’s
Day One Results:
Spain 19-24 USA
Australia 43-12 Uruguay
Fiji 31-12 Kenya
South Africa 14-19 Great Britain
New Zealand 26-21 France
Argentina 35-19 Germany
Spain 42-17 Uruguay
Australia 17-19 USA
Fiji 26-12 Great Britain
South Africa 26-5 Kenya
New Zealand 33-7 Germany
Argentina 14-22 France
Day Two fixtures
(Kick-off is local time +2 hours GMT)
USA v Uruguay (10.00)
Australia v Spain (10.22)
Kenya v Great Britain (10.44)
South Africa v Fiji (11.06)
Argentina v New Zealand (11.28)
France v Germany (11.50)
*Men’s Cup quarterfinals start at 15.30
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