A sluggish start against Fiji cost the depleted Blitzboks a fifth-place finish on the final day of the Hong Kong Sevens on Sunday.
Fiji claimed fifth at the Hong Kong Sevens after storming to a 33-14 victory over the Blitzboks in the fifth-place playoff.
The Springbok Sevens had to settle for sixth place, a big improvement on their 11th-place finish at the previous tournament in Los Angeles.
The flying Fijians built their win on a sensational start, scoring three successive tries to take a 19-0 lead.
That left the Springbok Sevens, without suspended captain Selvyn Davids and the injured Ronald Brown, with a mountain to climb, not helped by the returning Justin Geduld getting injured in the opening tackle of the match.
To their credit, the Blitzboks kept fighting and reduced the deficit just before the break when Shilton van Wyk showed a clean pair of heels to gather Quewin Nortje’s kick and score.
Fiji were once again the quickest out of the blocks in the second half, earning a penalty try after Impi Visser was yellow carded for an intentional knockdown near the tryline.
While the Blitzboks did strike again through youngster Katlego Letebele, that would be a consolation try as they suffered a second successive defeat in Hong Kong.
Photo: @Blitzboks/Twitter
The post Blitzboks finish sixth in Hong Kong appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Src: sarugbymag.co.za
