Silver lining for Blitzbokke
Although they lost their semifinal to eventual champions Fiji, Blitzbokke coach Paul Treu was encouraged by his team's efforts at the Gold Coast.
The Springbok Sevens secured third place with a resounding victory over Kenya, which followed a thumping of New Zealand on Saturday, and Treu said that despite the disappointment of not qualifying for the final there is much to be positive about as the series heads to Dubai for the second leg.
"We only lost one game and that was against the eventual winners, but apart from that we really played well. Ruwellyn Isbell and Reuben Johannes made their national debuts while Tshotsho Mbovane also made a welcome comeback after a long absence.
"Going into the tournament, I was a bit worried about our fitness levels because we had so many players coming back from injury. However, there was a real desire to play good attacking rugby and now we must keep this form in Dubai, where we will have a tough pool to navigate," he said.
The Blitzbokke were drawn in Pool C of the Dubai Sevens, sharing a pool with Dubai crowd favourites England, Samoa and Portugal.
Sevens World Series standings:
1 Fiji 22
2 New Zealand 19
3 South Africa 17
4 Kenya 15
5 Argentina 13
6 France 12
7 Australia 10
7 Samoa 10
9 Spain 8
10 England 7
11 Canada 5
11 Wales 5
13 Scotland 3
14 United States 2
15 Portugal 1
15 Tonga 1
