The Springbok Sevens team’s love affair with the Emirates Dubai 7s seems to be on the rocks after the 11-time champions crashed out of the play-offs for a second consecutive year with Pool A defeats to Fiji and Argentina in the HSBC SVNS opener on Saturday.
The Blitzboks started well by defeating France 15-12 in their opener, but successive defeats to Fiji (28-10) and Argentina (19-14) reduced them to also-rans in the new format, which clearly does not reward average.
They will now play Great Britain in the fifth-place semi-final on Sunday, with much reflection needed overnight to deliver a more streamlined performance at The Sevens on Sunday.
Pool A was tight, with each of France, South Africa, Fiji and Argentina securing wins in their three matches, but no team had a better understanding of what was needed than South Africa, who knew they had to beat the Pumas by 35 points to get into the semi-finals.
Being 12-0 down at the break was not the way to do it, as they allowed their opponents to outplay them in the first seven minutes of the match.
Credit to the Blitzboks, who scored two tries in the second half to grab the lead, but sadly their defence – average all day – again faltered later in the game.
Conceding nine tries in three matches will not get you into the play-offs, especially when you score seven and convert only two.
The day started brightly with the win over France. The Blitzboks outscored their opponents by three tries to two, with two significant interventions by Selvyn Davids the difference between the sides.
France started well and attacked hard in the opening minutes, but a great defensive set repelled their attack. When they tried one pass too many and conceded possession, the ball was worked to Ryan Oosthuizen, who ran 70m to score the opening try.
The French responded, though, outfoxing the SA defence out wide to score a converted try for a 7-5 lead. Donavan Don then scored to hand the lead back to South Africa, with the winger finishing off a delightful Davids kick to the corner after negotiating a wicked bounce on the line.
The three-point lead at the break was extended to eight points in the second half when Christie Grobbelaar scored. Again, Davids delivered a brilliant delayed pass to open space for the big runner on his outside.
The 15-7 lead looked safe, but a late France try gave them a sniff in the last minute of the match. Sadly for the French, they fluffed the restart. The Blitzboks opted for a scrum and played out the time.
The Blitzboks started well against Fiji and scored the first try of the match with Ronald Brown spotting a gap after they had set up a couple of good attacking phases to make it 5-0.
The wheels then came off and never returned. Fiji scored from the restart after Don missed a tackle (7-5). They got a second when Selvyn Davids had a slip in concentration on defence, and suddenly the lead jumped to 14-5 at the break.
The second half continued in the same vein as Fiji dominated the breakdown and although their physical approach was borderline, it was deemed legal by referee George Selwood.
Brown, Shilton van Wyk and Christie Grobbelaar were all victims of tackles that could easily have been seen as not legal, but that is the rub of the green at times.
Fiji’s attack, though, was as brutal as their defence. A delightful foot pass set up a third try, and their fourth try came after a wraparound had the SA defence ball watching.
At 28-05 there was only going to be one winner, but the Blitzboks pulled one back with Tristan Leyds scoring in the final minute.
Scorers:
South Africa 15 (5), France 12 (7)
SA – Tries: Ryan Oosthuizen, Donavan Don, Christie Grobbelaar.
France – Tries: Celian Pouzelgues, Antoine Zeghdar. Conversion: Pouzelgues.
South Africa 10 (5), Fiji 28 (14)
SA – Tries: Ronald Brown, Tristan Leyds.
Fiji - Tries: Joseva Talacolo, Pilipo Bukayaro, Jeremaia Matana, Apete Narogo. Conversions: Waisea Nacuqu, George Bose, Viwa Naduvalo, Terio Veilawa.
South Africa 14 (0), Argentina 19 (12)
SA – Tries: Ronald Brown, Zander Reynders. Conversions: Brown, Ricardo Duarttee.
Argentina – Tries: Marcos Moneta, Santiago Mare, Juan Patricio Batac. Conversions: Santiago Mare, Marcos Moneta.