The Springbok Sevens team meant business on the opening day of the Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens on Friday with convincing pool victories over Ireland (22-17) and Spain (24-10) all but securing them a spot in the quarter-finals.
The Blitzboks still need to play Samoa in their final pool match at 04h16 (SA time) on Saturday, but their two wins will be enough to secure them a spot in the top-eight, along with either Ireland or Spain, who face each other on the second day.
Interim head coach Philip Snyman was pleased with the results, saying their first objective - making the quarter-finals – was achieved, which made for a successful day one.
“We want to top our pool, so the job is not done as we still need to beat Samoa tomorrow morning, but the two wins over Ireland and Spain were a good effort,” said Snyman.
“We started really well against Ireland but then lost a bit of composure. Against Spain, we first could not get enough possession, but once we had hands on the ball, the points came.
“We are a dangerous team with the ball in hand. There were still mistakes on the day, but we will work on those overnight and come back stronger tomorrow.”
Unfortunately for the Blitzboks, Justin Geduld was red-carded against Ireland and he was suspended for three matches, which means he won’t be available to play on Saturday.