BlitzBoks crash to sixth in Dubai

NEWS: The Springbok Sevens’ crashed out of the Dubai Sevens when they were defeated 24-17 by New Zealand in the quarterfinals.

Having won the last five Dubai Sevens tournaments, expectations were high but the All Blacks got their first win against their traditional rivals since the 2007/8 season in the Desert tournament.

More agony awaited in their fifth-place playoff, where the BlitzBoks were pipped 17-15 by France, with a converted try in the last play of the match again tripping up the South Africans in what seemed to be a reply of the end of their New Zealand defeat.

Against France, the BlitzBoks raced to a 10-0 lead in no time with tries by Donavan Don and David Brits, in the right- and left-hand corners respectively rewarded some good wide play by the men in green and gold.

Their second-half effort was less flattering though as they allowed France to score two unanswered tries and with scores level at 10-10, with all to play for.

It seemed that the BlitzBoks had the result under wraps when Zain Davids got a try near the end of the game for a 15-10 lead, only for France to score in the final play of the match, with the try under the posts resulting in a match-winning conversion by Stephen Parez.

The quarterfinal against New Zealand was a classic. Both teams were in a position to win it with the last play, but where the BlitzBoks spilled their potential scoring pass, the Kiwis grabbed theirs.

Those matches were intense 😮‍💨
Bring on the finals 🤩#HSBCSVNS | #HSBCSVNSDXB pic.twitter.com/8K0f2R7cDN

— HSBC SVNS (@SVNSSeries) December 1, 2024

The BlitzBoks, trailing 17-19, were hot on the attack, but a loose pass by Shilton van Wyk found a New Zealand defender and they turned that into a try, their first win over South Africa at this venue in almost a decade.

Quewin Nortje opened the scoring and Tristan Leyds converted for an early 7-0 lead before Ngarohi McGarvey-Black scored and converted to level things at the break.

Nortje scored his second in the second half to push his side into the lead again before McGarvey-Black scored and converted again for New Zealand to take a 14-12 lead.

That was cancelled out by Don, who scored in the corner with two minutes left, handing his side a 17-14 lead. Sofia Maka scored to hand his side a 19-17 lead, with Maka making the last errant Blitzboks pass count to score his second at the end of the half.

Scorers:

For South Africa:
Tries: Quewin Nortje 2, Donovan Don
Con: Tristan Leyds

For New Zealand:
Tries: Ngarohi McGarvey-Black 2, Sofai Maka 2
Cons: McGarvey-Black 2

For South Africa:
Tries: Donavan Don, David Brits, Zain Davids

For France:
Tries: Liam Delamare, Alo Dabo, Varian Pasquet
Con: Stephen Parez