The Springbok Sevens side suffered yet another Cup quarter-final exit against Fiji for the third consecutive time this season on Saturday.
The Blitzboks had another strong start to the Wellington, New Zealand leg of the IRB tournament with convincing wins against Niue and World Cup champions Wales.
Attention is now focused on the Sevens code as it is part of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. However, the Bok win was followed by a defeat against New Zealand, which set up a tough Cup quarter-final fixture against their bogey team Fiji.
This was the third time the teams had met in the quarter-final stage this season, and it proved to be the third time the Boks would produce a poor showing against the Pacific Islanders. They had also been beaten by Fiji in last year’s World Games in Taiwan.
The Boks were beaten 21-5 by a more physical and stronger Fijian outfit after a lacklustre display in the second half.
The World Series defending champions were still within reach at half-time with a 7-0 deficit, but Fiji ran through for another two converted tries to eliminate the Boks to the Plate section. Branco du Preez scored a consolation try for South Africa.
In the Plate semi-final, the Blitzboks put in a better performance with a 29-5 win against Canada.
Franki Horne grabbed a brace while Mpho Mbiyozo, Kyle Brown and Ryno Benjamin also crossed the chalk to surge into the Plate final against Australia.
The Boks then somehow blew a 17-0 lead to end a disappointing sixth after losing 26-22 to the Aussies. They raced into an early buffer through tries from Chase Minnaar, Mzwandile Stick, and Ryno Benjamin, but Australia pulled one back through James Stannard on the half-time hooter.
When Bernard Foley scored straight after the break, the Boks led by just three. The Boks’ poor defence, for the umpteenth time this season, allowed the Australians back into it, and is the main reason they’ve had such a poor start to the series.
Kimani Situati claimed the third, again an embarrassing effort in the tackle from the Boks. Stick claimed one back to to give the Boks a brief lead, but Clinton Sills earned the winner, thanks again to woeful defence.
In other results, Samoa shocked World Series log leaders New Zealand with a 24-12 victory in the Cup semi-final. The Samoans couldn’t repeat the upset in the final as Fiji took the title with a thrilling 19-14 victory.
Article Source: http://www.sascoc.co.za/
