Cape Town - The Blitzboks’ ambitions of bagging the World Series Sevens title hangs by a thread after a poor first day at the Los Angeles Sevens which saw them lose two of their three Pool games.
They cannot now win the title, but they still have a slender chance of winning the overall Series title if other results go their way.
The Blitzboks are in a tussle for the title with Australia, Fiji and Argentina and they have to now hope that the Aussies finish lower than third and both the Pumas and the Fijians fail to make the final.
All of this is unlikely especially given the blistering form of Australia, who on form are favourites to win this event.
The Blitzboks faltered at the first hurdle on day one when they were well beaten 21-7 by hosts USA. They then narrowly beat Canada 22-19 and went into their final Pool game, against New Zealand, needing to win by 12 points to qualify for the quarter-finals.
Making an impact when it matters 🙌@SpeedSt11ck helps @USARugby earn a massive win in their #LA7s opener!@DHLRugby | #ImpactMoment pic.twitter.com/aSHhOfMiOf
— World Rugby Sevens (@WorldRugby7s) August 27, 2022
But this became a forlorn hope when the Kiwis raced into a 17-0 lead. The South Africans did not give up, though, and tries by James Murphy and Shilton van Wyk gave the final scoreline respectability at 17-14.
When departing coach Neil Powell looks back on his final tournament he will reflect on what might have been had he had his full squad to pick from — he went to Los Angeles without key men Selvyn Davids and Ronald Brown while flyhalf Dewald Human and Zain Davids were both injured in the first game against the USA.
IOL Sport