Sydney Sevens: New Zealand humiliate BlitzBoks in Final
DAY THREE WRAP: New Zealand produced a powerful performance to crush the BlitzBoks 38-0 in the Final at Sydney Sevens on Sunday.
A tight contest was expected between the two giants, but New Zealand were just on another level as they scored six unanswered tries in the match.
The writing was already on the wall for the BlitzBoks in the first half when New Zealand raced away to a 17-0 lead.
The South Africans struggled to put up a fight in the second half and they were eventually blown away in the closing stages.
Earlier in the day, the BlitzBoks beat Fiji 31-12 in their semifinal, while New Zealand smashed France 36-5 in the other semifinal.
Leaving the South Africa defence in a spin 🔄
Smoooooth stuff from Amanaki Nicole in the final 👊#Sydney7s | #HSBC7s | @nz_sevens pic.twitter.com/u0R69X30os
— World Rugby 7s (@WorldRugby7s) January 29, 2023
Losing Siviwe Soyizwapi and Ryan Oosthuizen to injuries earlier on the weekend, Jaiden Baron after the semifinal and Impi Visser early in the final, also made life difficult for the South Africans.
Ill-discipline and defensive errors – two areas where they were very good in their first five games – cost the BlitzBoks as New Zealand made them pay with their power game, while also dominating possession and territory.
Roderick Solo, Joe Webber and Sam Dickson scored first-half tries, while the BlitzBoks hardly had any meaningful possession.
The energy simply wasn’t there in the second half and New Zealand scored their fourth try, by Akuila Rokolisoa, with two minutes to go, effectively sealing the Sydney title, while Amanaki Nicole and Ngarohi McGarvey-Black grabbed two late five-pointers for the Kiwis after more mistakes by the South Africans.
Despite going down to New Zealand, the BlitzBoks moved up to second spot on the World Rugby Sevens Series log, leap-frogging the USA and Argentina which is a massive boost for their aim of finishing the season in the top-four, which will mean automatic qualification for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, while the Kiwis are still at the top of the standings.
Before the Final, the BlitzBoks kept their unbeaten run intact with a very good victory over Fiji in their semifinal.
They were in impressive form against Fiji, scoring five tries against two, with Shilton van Wyk grabbing a brace, while the BlitzBoks defended very well.
Although they made a hash of the kick-off, the BlitzBoks turned over possession at the resulting scrum and worked their way upfield. When the Fijians were penalised, Van Wyk made them pay with a superb line to go over under the sticks in the third minute. Ricardo Duarttee added the extras.
With a minute to go in the half, the BlitzBoks launched a great attack to the right from a scrum, and Dalvon Blood just managed to get the ball down before he put a hand into touch.
At 12-0 with no time left in the half, the BlitzBoks had one more chance and they took it as Jaiden Baron went over after yet another strong run by Impi Visser forced a penalty against Fiji, to put the South Africans in the lead by 17-0 at the break.
Fiji came out with intent in the second half, but they ran into some superb defence as the BlitzBoks made one desperate tackle after another inside their own 22 before winning a penalty at the breakdown with the tryline begging for the Fijians.
A minute or so later, Iowane Teba went over for a try, but by this time, the Fijians knew it wasn’t going to be easy to score against the BlitzBoks.
The strong defence forced mistakes and with two minutes to go, Darren Adonis hacked through a dropped ball and just managed to beat the Fijian defence to all but seal the deal for the BlitzBoks.
Van Wyk then rubbed salt into the Fijian wounds with his second try, an easy intercept of a loose pass inside the 22 to canter over.
Shaun Williams converted both of the last two tries to push South Africa past 30 points and into the final, although Viwa Naduvalo scored a consolation try for the Fijians.
Day Three Results:
Ninth-place Quarterfinals:
USA 14-12 Uruguay
Kenya 17-12 Spain
Tonga 35-14 Canada
Argentina 19-12 Japan
Thirteenth-place Semifinals:
Uruguay 24-19 Japan
Spain 17-14 Canada
Ninth-place Semifinals:
USA 17-19 Argentina
Kenya 24-26 Tonga
Fifth-place Semifinals:
Samoa 24-10 Australia
Ireland 21-19 Great Britain
Cup Semifinals:
New Zealand 36-5 France
South Africa 31-12 Fiji
Thirteenth-place Play-off:
Uruguay 26-5 Spain
Ninth-place Play-off:
Argentina 21-19 Tonga
Fifth-place Play-off:
Samoa 24-12 Ireland
Bronze Final:
France 5-29 Fiji
Cup Final:
New Zealand 38-0 South Africa
Additional source: SA Rugby
