The Springbok Sevens squad remained amongst the top four contenders of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series at the halfway stage of the competition but failed to fire on the second day of the HSBC LA Sevens at Dignity Health Sports Park on Sunday.
New Zealand won their second tournament in the series by claiming the crown in California and look set to finish top of the series (they are on 107 points), with the top four sides automatically qualifying for the Olympic Games in France in 2024.
Argentina, the losing finalists, moved into second place level on 86 points with South Africa, while Fiji, the current Olympic champions, moved into fourth place on 84 points after finishing third in the USA.
The Blitzboks lost both their fixtures, to Fiji (28-7) in the quarter-finals and Samoa (45-5) in the fifth-place semi-final, in a performance described by Springbok Sevens coach Sandile Ngcobo as unacceptable and completely devoid of effort.
To add to their woes, the Blitzboks suffered yet another spate of injuries during the tournament, limping off the Los Angeles pitch with only nine players fit to play.
On Sunday, the Blitzboks failed to get out of the starting blocks against both of their Pacific opponents.
In the quarter-finals, they allowed Fiji to jump into a 14-0 lead and with their attacking options all but eliminated due to a lack of possession, they could not put any scoreboard pressure on the Fijians.
Fiji scored two more in the second half, again with no reply from the Blitzboks, who could not get their hands on the ball to launch significant attacks and scoring opportunities. A late try by Ricardo Duarttee eased some pain, but the damage was done.
The match against Samoa proved an even bigger disappointment, as the men in blue completely dominated the match, scoring four tries in the first half and then three more in the second.
The match was an arm wrestle in the opening stanza. Samoa scored after five minutes and then twice in a minute, both from poor restart play by the Blitzboks. To add to their misery, they threw an intercept pass early in the second half to concede a fifth try in eight minutes of play. There were two more to follow as the South African effort imploded.
There was scant reward at the end of the play, with Travis Ismaiel scoring his first try in a Blitzbok jersey, but that achievement was overshadowed by a very disappointing effort in the previous 13 minutes of play.
HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series standings after six tournaments:
- New Zealand 107
- Argentina 86
- South Africa 86
- Fiji 84
- Samoa 81
- Australia 77
- France 76
- USA 69
- Ireland 68
- Great Britain 47