Blitzboks let Kiwis off the hook
29 May 2010
South Africa lost 24-17 to New Zealand in the Edinburgh Sevens after leading 12-5 at the break.
The Boks, who came into the game as underdogs, were put on the back-foot in the second minute when Kiwi captain DJ Forbes crossed the tryline. However, South Africa showed great composure and worked their way back with MJ Mentz scoring in the fifth minute and Ryno Benjamin crossing just before the break.
But the Kiwis came out firing in the second spell, and scored within the first minute through Save Tokula. Tomasi Cama’s conversion leveled the game at 12-12. Forbes crossed for his second two minutes later and when Tim Mikkelson went over 30 seconds after taking the field, the Blitz Boks looked to have truly lost their first-half fizz. But Fabian Juries again featured with what proved to be a consolation try in the dying stages of play, closing the gap to seven.
In their second clash, against Russia, Juries opened the scoring for the Boks after one minute, in what was expected to be a blow-out over the European minnows. However the try, converted by Mzwandile Stick, would be the only scoring action of the first half.
Mentz scored 30 seconds into the second half to make it 12-0. Russia hit back when Dmitriy Perov converted his own try a minute later but Hoffman Maritz scored shortly after to seal the win for South Africa.
The Boks made a positive start in their first match against Italy. Stick was outstanding with the boot, converting all seven South African tries. Benjamin opened the scoring in the third minute, but the Italians answered two minutes later through Emanuele Leonardi. However, 7-5 would be the closest the Azzuri would come to the Blitz Boks. Cecil Afrika scored South Africa’s second that put them 14-5 up at half-time.
South Africa exploded after the break, running in five tries. Afrika scored his second, before Chris Dry crossed a minute later. The veteran Juries then ran in his first at the four-minute mark, before Benjamin broke through for another two tries to make it 49-5.
For full scoresheets click here.
Latest results
Australia 21 England 21
United States 12 Fiji 24
New Zealand 24 South Africa 17
Samoa 10 Argentina 31
Canada 14 Portugal 24
Russia 24 Italy 12
Kenya 5 France 28
Fiji 26 Wales 7
United States 12 Scotland 33
England 19 Canada 26
Australia 35 Portugal 21
South Africa 19 Russia 7
New Zealand 52 Italy 0
Argentina 26 Kenya 14
Samoa 38 France 26
Fiji 14 Scotland 31
United States 10 Wales 19
England 17 Portugal 5
Australia 14 Canada 0
South Africa 49 Italy 5
New Zealand 57 Russia 0
Argentina 5 France 14
Samoa 42 Kenya 5
19 Comments
29 May 2010, 11:29 am
What has happened to Treu’s team this year? Disappointing.
29 May 2010, 11:33 am
We have a Super final coming on very shortly and this article is at the top of the page…
29 May 2010, 11:35 am
Not even one event? Last year they won several and took the series. Flash in the pan, obviously. NZ are by far the most regular winners of this version of rugby over the years and must be the red-hot favourites for that Olympic gold medal in London.
29 May 2010, 11:55 am
The Olympics is a heck of a long time away bud
29 May 2010, 12:00 pm
@TheTackler(TheTackler)-3: Samoa have beaten NZ 6 times out of the last 6 meetings since Dubai and hold the lead, so I’m pretty sure they would be favourites for 2012, however to the best of my knowledge there is no 7s tournament in 2012, Rio will be the first Olympics to showcase the event.
29 May 2010, 13:12 pm
Samoa have only had the wood on NZ in one year of the last twelve. In eleven of these 12 years, it’s been NZ with their foot on the Samoan — and everyone else’s — throat.
29 May 2010, 13:49 pm
@TheTackler(TheTackler)-6:
Good for you, I hope you enjoy watching your 7s. Me on the other hand, well I prefer watching proper rugby, like the Super 14 final for example.
29 May 2010, 14:05 pm
@Kobus Kitty(Kobus Kitty)-7:
you pharkin idiot.sevens rugby is a form of rugby in it’s own right and has helped develop the skills of lots of rugby players.
btw the Bokke are playing in this tournament as well,or are the team to black for you?
you are embarresment to white bluebull supporters just as julius malema is a embarresment to young black people.
29 May 2010, 14:10 pm
@TheTackler(TheTackler)-6: like I said, 6 in a row in the head to head and ahead in the series, Samoa would be comfortable favourites
29 May 2010, 14:25 pm
HELLLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOO keo people, think you should put up the game thread, this is no willynilly little game, wakeywakey.
29 May 2010, 14:26 pm
I support the Bokke in the 7′s and my second team is Kenya.
29 May 2010, 14:34 pm
150 minutes to go.
Why can’t we have a thread NOW???
29 May 2010, 15:05 pm
2 hours to go and not a peep from the keo backup singers!
what’s the deal???
29 May 2010, 15:15 pm
Fern, how is touring europe going? Exceeding all expectations I hope
29 May 2010, 15:30 pm
@Fern(Fern)-8:
Shhh, lets not get aggressive. I like my rugby when tries actually mean something. 7s is a joke, everyone knows it.
29 May 2010, 15:32 pm
90 minutes and counting.
29 May 2010, 21:03 pm
Kobus, you’re ignorant, my friend. You’re entitled to your opinion, but to project it like you do here is boorish and insulting to an entire sport which you claim to support.
I agree that Sevens is the smaller version of the game. I agree that the way it is set up, the guys playing it are not the premier 7 available to their country. But within the next 6 years, you will be able to pick the best 15s players from each country, and they will lose to the best 7s players, such is the degree of specialization in the game. It’s not there yet, but by the 2016 Olympics, it will be. So you need to see it as two games, specialists playing each. So if your opinion is that any sport (cricket, hockey, netball, swimming) is a joke, then fine, you’re one-dimensional. But if you’re saying it’s a joke because you’re comparing to 15s, then you’re ignorant. I’m back that second option.
It also happens to be growing magnitudes faster than 15s (for example, viewership of S14 in NZ is down 25%, and in SA, down 5% year-on-year, continuing to fall). It’s now at the same level world-wide as 15s because it’s viewed in more territories than 15s. So I’m afraid not “everyone knows it”, just you and your solar system, of which you’re the only star.
Historically, Sevens has been under-represented by the media and the authorities of the sport. In fact, just last week, I sat in an IRB meeting to discuss the future of the game, and it’s clear that there are two camps – those who adhere to your camp (though not as boorish), and those who recognize the unique entity of the game of sevens, which has a right to not be called a ‘joke’.
Besides, I reckon you’re so ignorant about the game you probably don’t know why you’re calling it a joke, other than the fact that 15s has always been marketed to you and you didn’t come across 7s until later, once you were ‘converted’. Your opinion is thus a consequence of what others have told you to believe, which means it’s of no consequence to me.
If you made it this far, well done.
As for SA, to the guy talking about flash-in-the-pan, yeah, it’s been a bad year for SA, but take Cama, Forbes, Lawrence and Raikabula out of the NZ team for reasons of injury and Super 14, and let’s see how they get on. Turnover of players is simply too high to sustain success when the union picks players OUT of Sevens. In that system, success, by definition, means future failure as the churn is so high. NZ, Samoa haven’t had this problem for the last 3 years, hence their success. Aus and England do. And apart from that, we haven’t had the quality, so we (SA) are where we deserve to be this year. Simple equation.
30 May 2010, 03:24 am
@Sevens fan(Sevens fan)-17:
Why do you think this article only has 20+ replies? No one cares. I’d have to question your mental state if you actually get excited for 7s.
30 May 2010, 13:10 pm
@Kobus Kitty(Kobus Kitty)-18: Beacause frankly the Bok 7′s have reverted to form and have been dismal this year. The sheer number of unforced errors alone this year have sunk them. I dont like watching losers.
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