The Springbok Sevens team bounced back in dramatic fashion with back-to-back Pool A wins at the Emirates Dubai Sevens on Friday, to finish top of the group and secure a quarterfinal sport against Samoa on Saturday.
After a 14-5 stumble against Great Britain in their opening match, the Blitzboks overpowered Kenya 27-12 and then outplayed World Series champions Australia 19-12 to finish top of the pool and, in the words of assistant coach Philip Snyman, ‘restored the pride in the jersey’.
Snyman, himself a former Blitzboks captain, was full of praise for the performance of the players, especially after the opening match, which saw the snapping of South Africa’s 18-game winning streak in Dubai.
“We had a serious discussion among ourselves after the loss,” said Snyman. “The standard delivered was not the standard expected. We agreed there and then that it was not what this jersey was about.
“Credit to everyone who stepped up afterwards and gave us something to be proud of. Beating Australia, the number one team in the world, in the way we did, that was great. I think we restored the pride back into the jersey,” said Snyman, who won three World Series titles as a player.
The match against Australia started in the perfect fashion for the Blitzboks. Australia conceded two early yellow cards, one due to a professional infringement and the other due to a high tackle, and were made to pay for that.
Siviwe Soyizwapi, who just missed out on a try moments earlier when he was tackled into touch, dotted down soon after and JC Pretorius added a second to open a 12-0 lead in no time. Australia are not World Series champions for nothing though and once they had their numbers back, wore down the Bok defence to score just before the break.
They also scored first in the second half to level matters with five minutes to play. Dalvon Blood sealed the deal with a first try in Dubai, after a lovely move to the left with the Blitzboks wing showing a decisive turn of speed that finished with him dotting down under the sticks. Branco du Preez kicked a 464th career conversion and the Boks could celebrate a well-deserved win.
The Cup quarterfinals will be played on Saturday:
8.28am: Argentina v Ireland
8.50am: USA v Australia
9.12am: France v New Zealand
9.34am: South Africa v Samoa
