Unbeaten Blitzboks surge into semis

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The Blitzboks qualified for the semi-finals of the SVNS World Championship following a clean sweep of their Pool A rivals in Los Angeles.

Philip Snyman’s charges kicked off the tournament at Dignity Health Sports Park with a 19-10 win against France followed by wins against Great Britain (12-7) and SVNS league winners Argentina (29-21) on day 1 of the tournament.

In the semi-finals they face traditional foes New Zealand, who tied with Australia on seven points in Pool B but advanced due to superior points difference. Kick-off is at 10.46pm on Sunday (SA time). 

After an impressive performance against France, the Blitzboks were on the money again against Team GB, scoring two tries within the first five minutes.

First Ronald Brown kicked ahead in the opening minute of play, regathered and scored for a 7-0 lead before Shilton van Wyk chased down his own kick as well to score his 50th try in sevens.

Leading 12-0, the Blitzboks were in cruise control, but then stepped off the gas, allowing their opponents to claw their way back into the match. Freddie Roddick scored on the buzzer for a converted try, giving the UK side something of a sniff in the second half.

The second half remained scoreless, but went from one side to the other as both sides had their moments, but could not convert. Some good scrambling defence by the Blitzboks proved vital as they held out their opponents to secure their second win of the day.

In the first match, the French started very well and pressured the Blitzboks into mistakes, which led to two unanswered tries by Varian Pasquet and Simon Desert to give them a 10-point lead.

The Blitzboks knuckled down and showed great character to fight back after going down 10-0 late in the first half. Selvyn Davids’ late try before the break, from a great grubber into space, meant the teams swapped sides with France leading by 10-7.

The second half belonged to the Blitzboks, who held onto possession much better as they worked to find space, with Shilton van Wyk and Zain Davids adding their names to the score sheet.

Van Wyk circled the French defence on the right wing before Zain Davids ran the perfect angle onto a short pass into space by Ricardo Duarttee to give the Blitzboks a nine-point lead. France lost a player to the sin bin and the game finished as the South Africans showed some real grit on defence to deny their opponents a losing bonus-point.

South Africa wrapped up the opening day with a five-tries-to-three win against Argentina – Brown, Van Wyk, Ryan Oosthuizen, Selvyn Davids and Siviwe Soyizwapi crossing the whitewash for the men in green and gold.

Photo: @Blitzboks/Twitter

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