The Springbok Sevens team have it all to do in their final Pool A match against Argentina on Saturday, with victory needed over the defending champions of the Cathay/HSBC SVNS Hong Kong to proceed into the play-off stages of the tournament.
A very average display against Spain in their second match resulted in a 31-12 defeat to a team that lost their last six matches against South Africa. Earlier on Friday, the Blitzboks opened their campaign with a close 12-7 win over Uruguay, the 11th ranked team at the tournament.
Victory over Argentina (at 04h39 SA time) will secure a quarter-final spot, but should they come up short, the Blitzboks’ title aspirations will be gone.
The South Africans made hard work of their opening win against Uruguay and a late try by the South Americans even gave them a sniff of an upset.
Early tries by Tristan Leyds, who sniped from a set piece attack, and Selvyn Davids, who used his magical stepping to outfox the defence, saw the Blitzboks jump into a 12-0 lead, but they failed to build on the strong start.
Uruguay played much better in the second half, keeping the ball for long periods of time. The SA defence kept them pinned down in their half though and it was only in the last minute that they could work their way into the Blitzboks’ half. Their try six seconds from time was well earned and resulted in a losing bonus point.
Against the Spanish, shoddy defence cost the Blitzboks dearly. Spain targeted certain South African defenders on attack and also played clever rugby at the breakdown, preventing the Blitzboks from any turn-overs.
By keeping the ball alive well, they also controlled possession and it became a frustrating and disappointed match for Blitzbok fans.
Spain scored two unanswered tries in the first half, both from weak tackles, and turned up the pace in the second, getting another three, two from clever attack and managing to isolate SA defenders out wide, while ill-discipline at ruck time did not help Impi Visser and his troops either.
Scorers:
South Africa 12 (12), Uruguay 7 (0)
SA – Tries: Tristan Leyds, Selvyn Davids. Conversion: Leyds.
Uruguay – Try: Diego Ardao. Conversion: Juan Manuel Tafernaberry.
South Africa 12 (0), Spain 31 (14)
SA – Tries: Shilton van Wyk, Donavan Don. Conversion: Ronald Brown.
Spain – Tries: Tobias Sainz-Trapaga (2), Eduardo Lopez (2), Jeremy Trevithick. Conversions: Francisco Cosculluela, Juan Ramos (2)
