Blitzboks’ streak sets up French clash
9 Dec 2011
GARETH DUNCAN, reporting from the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, watched the Springbok Sevens enjoy a flawless run on day one of the PE Sevens to create a Cup quarter-final draw against France.
It was a successful start to the tournament for the Blitzboks, who won all their group games and didn’t concede any points as they delivered a strong all-round game. While the crowd diminished during the final hours, mainly because of windy and cold weather, South Africa never lost their form as they showed good form throughout day one.
The most important win was against Australia, which proved to be the Pool C decider. After suffering a last-minute 17-14 defeat to the Aussies in the Plate final at the Dubai Sevens last weekend, South Africa dominated in 26-0 triumph.
The hosts won most of the possession in the first half, but struggled to turn this advantage into points. But returning playmaker Cecil Afrika managed to break the deadlock on the stroke of half-time as he sniped a gap for a 7-0 lead.
Unsung hero Mark Richards then grabbed a second-half brace to help clinch the win for Paul Treu’s charges while Steven Hunt also continued his rich try-scoring form, diving over for his sixth try of the day.
The victory sets up a Cup quarter-final fixture against France on day two. The other top tier play-offs see Samoa tackle Wales, World Series log leaders Fiji face England and unbeaten New Zealand take on rivals Australia.
Earlier in the day, the Springbok Sevens thrashed Kenya 45-0.
To the chants of ‘Kyk hoe wen ons met Cecil!’, the Blitzboks delivered a convincing performance to ease past their African comrades. But while hometown boy Afrika was impressive – it was fellow PE-born speedster Hunt who was the star of the show, scoring four tries thanks to fantastic attacking play from the home team.
Hunt sealed his hat-trick in the first stanza as the Kenyans struggled to restrict the rampant Blitzboks. Afrika also grabbed a try to contribute to the 26-0 half-time lead.
Hunt ran in for his fourth try early after the restart while substitutes Richards and Boom Prinsloo came off the bench to complete the rout.
In their first game, the Springbok Sevens thumped Canada 33-0.
The Blitzboks entered the field to a standing ovation from a 8000-strong crowd, who showed up early on Friday. It seemed to have inpsired the hosts, who surged into a 12-0 lead thanks to tries from Branco du Preez, who dotted down from close range, and Chris Dry, who had an easy run in thanks to a clever chip from Afrika.
South Africa were dealt a blow when Hunt was yellow carded shortly before half-time because of a breakdown infringement. But Canada couldn’t capitalise on their one-man advantage as they struggled to break a strong defence.
Once the Blitboks returned to seven men, they regained the ascendancy. Hunt scored the first points of the second half as South Africa countered off a poor kick from the Canadians. Cornal Hendricks burst through to grab a try on debut while Richards finished off proceedings.
Blitzboks’ fixtures, day one:
South Africa 33 Canada 0
South Africa 45 Kenya 0
South Africa 26 Australia 0
Click here for all fixtures and results
160 Comments
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9 Dec 2011, 19:49 pm
so this hunt kid is also lost to wp?
he seems useful.
wtf is going on at wp?
9 Dec 2011, 19:52 pm
Bah humbug, Tac, bah humbug.
Jingle balls for me.
9 Dec 2011, 19:53 pm
@Robzim-50:
Kallis, SA greatest cricketer. Richards, Pollock and even D’Olivera I feel, would be in the mix.
9 Dec 2011, 19:53 pm
Jinne ranger even we don’t know what’s happening half the time in Kaapstad.
Don’t ask.
We just hit the beach, bru.
9 Dec 2011, 19:55 pm
Magtag biff is so portly and useless
9 Dec 2011, 19:55 pm
@rangerman-51:
All well here, we just have too many good players and cannot give them all gametime and then they leave.
Perhaps the must allow us to enter 2 teams in each of the super 15 and currie cup
9 Dec 2011, 19:56 pm
Festive shmestive!
9 Dec 2011, 19:59 pm
@Jeraldjay-53:
imo both Richards and Pollock might have been marginally better batsmen than Kallis but if you add his bowling and slip fielding then I reckon he is in a class of his own.
Perhaps even the greatest all rounder the world has ever produced?
9 Dec 2011, 20:02 pm
Me, I like Chris Gayle meself.
9 Dec 2011, 20:09 pm
@Robzim-58:
Sobers score 8000 runs and took 360 odd wickets. Kallis 12 000 runs and took 260 odd wickets.
But does he “light the soul” (entertain) like Richards (scored 100 before lunch on the first day) or Pollock’s classic stroke play.
9 Dec 2011, 20:19 pm
7′s stadium looks empty
9 Dec 2011, 20:19 pm
@Robzim-58:
You obviously never saw Richards or Pollock. I’m not decrying Jaques, but there’s no comparison. If Donald Bradman includes Richards in his best team of the 20th century, I’m not complaining.
9 Dec 2011, 20:21 pm
@Jeraldjay-60:
The fact that Jacques is not an entertainer like Richards, Pollock, Sobers and even Botham is probably his only weakness. I am not sure if he would have been more entertaining if he had the privelage of playing in great teams where he did not have to” carry” the rest as much as he did for most of his career.
9 Dec 2011, 20:24 pm
@Robzim-58:
Sorry Rob, just Google the stats and Sobers took 235 test wickets and Kallis has got 270.
So according to the stats… Kallis is the greatest all rounder of all time.
9 Dec 2011, 20:24 pm
@David-62:
Quite right.
However cricket is a stats game and kallis (rightly or wrongly) will be remembered as the best of the lot.
9 Dec 2011, 20:25 pm
@David-62:
I saw both live at provincial level but they were at that stage near the end of their careers. Not disputing that they were better batsman but not sure how much better. Barry only played 4 tests I think so it is hard to compare.
9 Dec 2011, 20:25 pm
Mmmm. The moon is full.
9 Dec 2011, 20:29 pm
We have the funereal robin jackass on cricket and the funereal capostagno postman on rugby.
Lord save us.
9 Dec 2011, 20:31 pm
Accompanied by the monotonous kepler.
9 Dec 2011, 20:31 pm
The sooner Richard Levi is selected to play for SA in limited overs games the better.I should not talk on his hand though while he is batting.
9 Dec 2011, 20:33 pm
Sports commentating should not be eulogisingly excruciatingly unenthusiastically vrot.
9 Dec 2011, 20:38 pm
@Robzim-66:
If you take stats out of the equation and look at the best cricketers from a purely entertainment value Herschelle, Sehwag and Gayle are top of that list and lets not forget about that 38 year old cricketer from Mumbai.
9 Dec 2011, 20:41 pm
Aus playing in tasteful lime green.
9 Dec 2011, 20:48 pm
@Jeraldjay-72:
For sure, but there are more , including the great Gillchrist as a batsman/keeper and as a bowler one must include Mr Hollywood Warne.
9 Dec 2011, 20:52 pm
lol i like lime green. Yebo ! ! We score again.
9 Dec 2011, 20:53 pm
Go blitsies!!!
9 Dec 2011, 20:53 pm
lol and we score again, go bokkies
9 Dec 2011, 20:55 pm
And again lololoj, this is fun.
9 Dec 2011, 20:56 pm
@the artist formerly known as gunther-65:
If cricket was just based on stats, how do you explain this.
Boucher has taken 520 odd test catches/stumpings and scored 5300 odd test runs.
Gilchrist has taken 420 odd test catches/stumpings and scored 5500 odd test runs.
I hate to say it but IMO Gilchrist was/is a far better keeper/batsmen.
9 Dec 2011, 20:56 pm
I’m happy for the guys and all, but I still maintain that Sevens is really just for guys who can’t quite cut it in the 15 man code.
9 Dec 2011, 21:02 pm
You tell ‘em Tac.
Cease this needless hysteria.
9 Dec 2011, 21:03 pm
@Robzim-66:
From Wicki:
Wisden Cricketer of the Year
Richards scored a century before lunch nine times in his career! In 1968 he totalled 2 395 runs in the county championship and was named one of Wisden’s five cricketers of the year.
However, his most memorable achievement was reserved for Australia in 1970/71 where, playing in Perth for South Australia, he blasted an unbeaten 325 in a single day, on his way to his highest first-class innings of 356. Led by Australian test fast bowlers Garth McKenzie and Dennis Lillee and England spinner Tony Lock, it was no ordinary attack that Richards tore to shreds. It was his only season in Sheffield Shield cricket; not surprisingly South Australia won the title that year.
Denied a role on cricket’s highest stage, Richards joined Kerry Packer’s breakaway World Series Cricket in 1977. This gave him the opportunity to test himself against the world’s top players, and once again he showed his best when faced with the best, compiling 554 runs at the superb average of 79.
9 Dec 2011, 21:09 pm
@Tacitus-80:
Put your feet up and all, and just enjoy the party.
You’re allowed to let your hair down.
9 Dec 2011, 21:11 pm
@David-82:
And he came within a whisker of scoring a hundred before lunch on his test debut. He ended up stuck on 96 at lunch.
9 Dec 2011, 21:12 pm
@ Dawn… was told really scary movie on at 9.30pm.
9 Dec 2011, 21:13 pm
@Jeraldjay-79:
The difference re the batting is in the averages. Mark played more games. Gillchrist’s test average is about 47 while Mark’s is only about 30. As far as limited overs cricket is concerned there is also no comparison as far as batting is concerned as Gillchrist was one of the most devestating openers who ever played the game while Mark batted much lower down.
I have no clue who is or was the best keeper of the two.
9 Dec 2011, 21:16 pm
Yes hugs! Paranormal acrtivity 2.
Not much for sequels, the first one was truly scarey.
9 Dec 2011, 21:18 pm
Tac let his hair down? How long is it?
9 Dec 2011, 21:20 pm
@David-82:
Amazing stuff.
I always wonder how good a test player Garth le Roux would have been if he had opportunities to play test cricket- he was also brilliant during the Packer series. The same goes for Vincent van der Bijl- he mainly played locally except for a few seasons of county cricket where he was just about unplayable on the english pitches that suited him perfectly.
9 Dec 2011, 21:22 pm
@Tacitus-80:
One of Paul Treu’s all time favourite players while a coach of 7′s is none other than the current Bulls backline coach.
I kid you not.
9 Dec 2011, 21:23 pm
Vince van der bijl he of the chicken fame?
9 Dec 2011, 21:25 pm
Vok all these cricketers do is have drinks!
9 Dec 2011, 21:28 pm
All this talk of cricket will bring extraball cursing majola.
Ssssshhhh.
9 Dec 2011, 21:29 pm
@Dawn-92:
And your problem is what precisely?
9 Dec 2011, 21:30 pm
@Dawn-92:
Drinks? You must see them after the game. And, unlike Kiwi rugby players they can usually handle it (except for Herchelle, lol)
9 Dec 2011, 21:35 pm
Iaas relax no problem it aint that hot at newlands no need for drinks every hour
Yeesh
9 Dec 2011, 21:36 pm
@Robzim-89:
I last saw Richards at Newlands against the WI rebels. He’d been out of 1st class cricket for 3 years and was coach/player for Natal that year and his selection was criticised by the pundits as being based on nostalgia. He treated Sylvestor Clarke (who was at his most venomous) as a novice, stepping inside and hooking his bouncers into the Oaks with total disdain. A famous cricketer/journalist, whose name I forget, classed his innings as the finest half century he’d ever seen, and I agree. The man was pure genius.
9 Dec 2011, 21:39 pm
@Robzim-89:
Yep, Vince was one our greatest and under rated bowlers, who never had the chance to prove himself on the Test stage.
9 Dec 2011, 21:42 pm
Did vince not have a chicken thrown at him
9 Dec 2011, 21:44 pm
@David-9
Of the 3 as batsmen, I’d rate them
1) Pollock
2) Richards
3) Kallis
But Kallis still remains the best cricketer SA has produced.
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