Blitzboks fall at last hurdle
10 Dec 2011
GARETH DUNCAN, reporting from the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, watched the Blitzboks concede a last-minute try in a 31-26 Cup final defeat to New Zealand on day two of the PE Sevens.
The inaugural PE Sevens finished in 20 minutes of madness.
Ahead and during this fixture, the crowd created a magical atmosphere – something that was missing throughout the weekend’s festivities. The St Georges band arrived late during the day and their presence ignited an electric mood around the park, especially with the large All Blacks club who sat themselves in the seats below them. It was a fitting stage for the Blitzboks and New Zealand, who were clearly the two best teams at the tournament.
For New Zealand, it was their eighth consecutive Cup final appearance while it was only the hosts’ third in their history, having previously won one and lost one – both to the former. And on this occasion, the Kiwis went on to win their ninth South African leg Cup title thanks to Tomasi Cama, who scored and converted a try in the last move of the game.
It was a close contest in the first half, which ended 17-14 at the break in the Kiwis’ favour. DJ Forbes led from the front and powered over for the opening try, which was cancelled out by Bernado Botha’s finish. The hosts were then dealt a blow when Boom Prinsloo was yellow-carded for a professional foul at the breakdown.
From a defending scrum, the Blitzboks crumbled and Cama capitalized to dive over for his first five-pointer. Once South Africa returned to seven men, Botha went on to score his fourth try of the tournament – but New Zealand held a slender half-time lead after Frank Halai crossed the chalk.
The Blitzboks dominated the early parts of the second half, surging into a 26-17 lead with Steven Hunt and Cecil Afrika running over from close range. But defensive lapses at the death saw Halai and Cama complete their braces, the latter score a controversial one as a few South African players believed they were tripped during the final play. But Australian referee Anthony Moyes waved play on as Cama broke South African hearts.
The day’s results sees Fiji and New Zealand share the World Series table lead with 51 log points each. The Fijians performed badly on day two, which ended with a 48-0 thrashing from Wales in the Plate final. The Blitzboks find themselves third on the table with 48 log points while England (47) and France (38) trail closely behind.
Earlier in the day, the Springbok Sevens downed Samoa 12-7 in the Cup semi-final.
It was a physical clash and one the hosts handled well as they kept the game tight and capitalised on favourable field position. They spent most of the first half in Samoa’s 22m area, and they finished two scoring opportunities to take a 12-0 half-time lead. A Branco du Preez side step and break opened the scoring while Botha showed great power out wide to finish in the corner. Samoa ended the half with six men when Afa Aiono was sin-binned for striking Kyle Brown with the forearm.
After the second stanza restart, South Africa placed a greater emphasis on restricting the Pacific Islanders – which they did to great effect. Samoa struggled to break into the hosts’ red zone but managed to score a late try through Paul Perez. The Blitzboks, however, still did enough for a place in the Cup final
In their first match of the day, Cecil Afrika scored two crucial tries in the Springbok Sevens’ 26-12 win over France in the Cup quarter-final.
Coming off a 19-5 Cup defeat to the French in the same fixture at the Dubai Sevens last weekend, the Blitzboks ended on top on this occasion thanks to their hometown playmaker. But it didn’t come easy, as an attacking error saw Terry Bouhraoua put the opposition 5-0 ahead.
An Afrika run set up Boom Prinsloo minutes later while the former also dotted down after sniping a gap. But Renaud Delmas finished off a late attack, which capitalised on the hosts’ shaky rearguard. The half-time score read 12-12.
The Blitzboks produced a strong second half showing to seal their place in the top four. Brilliant stepping from Afrika saw the speedster grab his 70th World Series try while Botha finished off proceedings after chasing down a Du Preez chip.
Blitzboks’ fixtures, day two:
Cup quarter-final: South Africa 26 France 12
Cup semi-final: South Africa 12 Samoa 0
Cup final: South Africa 26 New Zealand 31
Click here for all day two fixtures and results
1,234 Comments
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11 Dec 2011, 23:27 pm
Fitzpatrick was my favourite hands down tho – that look was pure gold, the boere tried to moer him for 80 mins, and they got more angry the more he kept up his nonsense in the bowels, and he didnt care one bit as long as his team won. he’d pop up from bottom of a ruck as if he’d just recited the holy of holy’s Ave Maria, meanwhile back in the ranch the replay showed the fastest fingers in the west.
11 Dec 2011, 23:28 pm
@Heavens Game-798: Great solo for sure. One of the best.
11 Dec 2011, 23:28 pm
@Dawn-793:
Music will unite unless you reveal terrible taste…..
Then they will be down on you like a tonne of bricks!!
Perhaps we should reveal the track we find most repellent!
11 Dec 2011, 23:29 pm
@Heavens Game-778: you don’t know much about music do you? neither it seems do you understand much about how life and / or the universe works.. you may get a little enlightened as the years eat away at your arrogance.. although I ain’t about to be holding my breath…
@Hurricane-777: Like your style.. nice slick riffs… some clean sounds from that guitar… you got quite a Gary Moore kinda feel and sound…. very neat and great feel and riff work..
I’m still a hard core deep south blues kinda man though.. one the most underrated guitar virtuoso’s is Steven Stills.. the stuff he and Neil Young did together on 4 ways still most pleasing double barrel call and receive guitar sounds to my old hippy ears…
11 Dec 2011, 23:29 pm
@stormersboy-802: should be 797.
11 Dec 2011, 23:35 pm
@stormersboy-797: yeah that was awesome. getting old forgot that one
@cab-795: nah fitzy was our greatest blatant cheat . didnt like him till he became AB’s captain and only because he didnt change his game despite the leadership role. mccaw at least tries to play the game. fitzy just did sht off the ball all the time. in his defence though he hardly ever missed a line out through, without lifters. very rare these days
not a fan of forbes either. dunno why or why he cant make 15′s. mind u messam was 7′s captain and he’s average at best in test level.
11 Dec 2011, 23:35 pm
@ashampoopaloo-804: You can say whatever fanciful fantasies you want…it won’t convince me that Hendrix is not overrated… He has been put on this untouchable pedestal by some tone deaf fools… There are many better.
And I will never be ashamed of being a blonde, blue eyed boy, no matter how much you rant and wail in subconscious envy…
11 Dec 2011, 23:37 pm
Over and out… My thread did well today… 807 and counting… Box Office.
11 Dec 2011, 23:37 pm
@carol-803:
sorry, no please feel free to put forward your own personal choices, but hell no-one like mark knoffler or santana surely?
11 Dec 2011, 23:37 pm
Whatever
11 Dec 2011, 23:38 pm
@Heavens Game-807: you an idiot with your blond haired blue eyed arrogant idiocy you don’t know fuckall about life.. or music for that matter… you just one imbecile fool who thinks way too much of himself… stupid ignorant dumb fck prat..
11 Dec 2011, 23:38 pm
@stormersboy-802: Whats that… Akaroa or Poison
Truly out…
Cheers
11 Dec 2011, 23:41 pm
@cab-809:
11 Dec 2011, 23:42 pm
@man1a-806:
fitzpatrick was a legend, he’s also a very good commentator, and for all his on-field gamesmanship with the Boks, he always shows great respect for the SA rivalry and i think even the Boks who played against him found it quite funny – i always maintained, we needed to teach our players to cheat better. Then again, we did have some great refs…
Fitzpatrick imo is all that is best about rugby, he was totally about the team, i cant think of another player like him in that respect. McCaw probably the greatest opensider to ever play, tho no longer in the league of the young bucks like pocok and brussow imo, but still v influential with his guile…
11 Dec 2011, 23:42 pm
@ashampoopaloo-804:
Thanks mate.
I love all sorts of music, except for some of the new music that has been coming out lately
11 Dec 2011, 23:43 pm
@Heavens Game-808:
lol
Yeah more like Bok Office
11 Dec 2011, 23:43 pm
Ja getouttahere
11 Dec 2011, 23:43 pm
@carol-813:
yeah, i know what u mean, old rolling stone tumbleweed dylan’s harmonica for one…
11 Dec 2011, 23:48 pm
you get fools and then you get imbeciles….
some these ignorant twats who reckon they know squat about anything are ingrained imbeciles for sure… especially these dubious ignoramus’s who reckon they know anything about either music.. or life… they don’t even know much about science even though they spent all told years studying the insignificant useless dumb fck unenlightened stuff…
11 Dec 2011, 23:52 pm
ja, now he wanna talk science, oooh vok.
now wtf u telling me the other night that CSNY are **** for when u rate two of them? catch a wake up todger-face.
11 Dec 2011, 23:53 pm
@Hurricane-815:
music is a stepped down reverberation of higher strains of calling which lift certain human emotions toward those levels of energies that remind us somewhat of who we are or where we hail from… and then you get those who reckon we no more than some dumb deluded monkee who got lost along the way following the papaya trail … or else they say humans don’t have a soul…. shows how much they actually know, or don’t know.. don’t it?
11 Dec 2011, 23:56 pm
who told you CSNY are sh’t I reckon you got the wrong monkee by the wrong tail.. you dumb fck imbecilic pseudo scientist that knows actually squat about anything.. let alone music.. or life…
CSNY and Bob Dylan probably my most influential music upbringing.. those the sounds I grew up on.. so whoever told you they don’t rate CSNY weren’t me…
11 Dec 2011, 23:57 pm
was def you, you got rocks in the head, reckon u been making stepped-down reverberations out your blowhole, u keep talking kak like that we gonna have to call the cuckoo-wagon for u.
11 Dec 2011, 23:57 pm
@ashampoopaloo-819: u shouldnt let him get u fired up. lifes too short
@cab-814: LOL
mccaw would be a jaguar but fitzy was the fox.
wow a saffa who actually likes fitzy. my saffa mates here would go into a tirade any time i mention fitzy. yeah fitzy was a team player first and foremost. also u had to appreciate how much time he actually spent working on his game. apparently he’d take rugby ball with him every where to practise his lineout throws with his wife. dedication. the hard work showed. most accurate lineout thrower i’ve ever seen.
he definitely considered the boks as the team to ultimately test your self against, which imho is still true today.
12 Dec 2011, 00:00 am
@cab-818:
Dylans harmonica is one step above his singing….
I have really tried to like Bob Dylan, but!!!
12 Dec 2011, 00:07 am
@cab-823: go find it fckarse go find the comment where I said CSNY are sh’t you dumbfck moron.. what you dumb scientists know about anything relevant to life or your human existence.. or energetic fields of reverberated stepped down structures of the fabric of this universe is outright zilch zero nonentity.. and you dumb fck ignoramus’s call yourself scientists.. shows what kinda monkee scientists still breath in their own dung in their own dumb fck ignoramus zoo’s
12 Dec 2011, 00:09 am
when they are deaf they are deaf.. and when they are blind they are blind.. pity it is you can’t do fckall about it… dumb deaf and blind fckd up monkees remain dumb deaf and blind fckd up monkees no matter how hard you try to educate them out their dumb deaf and blind fckd up stupor….
12 Dec 2011, 00:11 am
nighty night
got a roof to put on in the morning
go get a f’ng education you dumb fck ignoramus neanderthal stupid materialist ignoramus dumb deaf and blind dumb fck.
12 Dec 2011, 00:12 am
@ashampoopaloo-828:
Night Skop.
12 Dec 2011, 02:00 am
@Hurricane-718: always with u always with me. love that song despite not being a huge alien surfing fan. your better than i on the axe and what a fine axe it is.
i’m a sucker for hammeronds
oh and the jersey….
LIONS REPRESENT!!!
12 Dec 2011, 05:54 am
well done black caps
12 Dec 2011, 08:10 am
Hurricane…?
Could only download your stuff now as only had my mobile last night…
Huge huge respect bud…!!
Awesome stuff…!!
12 Dec 2011, 08:29 am
Interesting debate about guitarists , some okes here know their guitars it seems !!!
Hurricane looked at your clip, good stuff man, I know nothing about guitars but do appreciate the sounds and the talent it takes to produce it !!
12 Dec 2011, 08:49 am
Hurricane……
Awesome stuff, very impressive.. respect.
Pity I had to leave asy night and could not take part in discussion , but I just read through the posts.It is obvious that each have their favourites and as the styles differ one cannot really say who is the best.Someone once wrote of the Rolling Stone Magazine top 100 rock guitarists of all time that Hendrix is number one and no 2-100 should all be no 2.
Interesting though that bloggers who contributed last night mainly named “older” playes as their favourites. Some of the more modern blokes are just as good- for example Tom Morello (Rage against the Machine) and Jack White (Stripes, Dead weather, Raconteurs)
Morello must certainly be on of the most creative and innovative rock guitarists ever- he might not be the fastest or most accurate but he certainly brought something different , “new and fresh” to the party at a time when things were becoming a bit stale.
12 Dec 2011, 08:57 am
@Robzim-834:
quite right…!!
And Skop…
I know you and I have had words in the past… but… just have to say…
Enjoyed your posts last night… they’re far more compelling, entertaining and enlightening when you allow your true intelligence and wit to shine through…
you really don’t need to do the picadilly stuff…
long may you show the real skip that i know…!
#justsaying…
12 Dec 2011, 09:15 am
Hurricane killed that Joe Satriani song.
Excellent fretwork. Very impressed.
12 Dec 2011, 09:29 am
@Robzim-834:
i havn’t had time to go through these posts but am curious to know if knopfler got a worthy mention?
12 Dec 2011, 09:37 am
@au revoir mon tout noirs, au revoir…-837: From a couple, including myself. A great guitarist, composer. Not the best singer in the world lol but he makes it work.
12 Dec 2011, 09:41 am
@Robzim-834:
agreed mostly.
in respect of the ‘modern blokes’ kurt cobain’s right up in the top 20 at the least and maybe even top 10 best guitarists ever imo.
12 Dec 2011, 09:48 am
@au revoir mon tout noirs, au revoir…-837:
Yip, as Stormerboy pointed out he got a few mentions.
I also like him quite a bit- nice laid back style showing that a top player does not always have to be loud to make his presence felt.
@stormersboy-838:
Yeah, his voice reminds me sometimes of the earlier Dylan- as my wife said, “terrible, but at least not false”.
12 Dec 2011, 09:59 am
@au revoir mon tout noirs, au revoir…-839:
Knopfler is a genius and a pox on Cab for his impertinent disrespect.
@Hurricane – great stuff, man. And clearly you have a face for radio?
12 Dec 2011, 10:02 am
@Robzim-840: LOL not false.
He’s a great “feel” player.
Some of the accoustic stuff he did with Chet Atkins is very good.
Not just a rockabilly player.
12 Dec 2011, 10:18 am
@stormersboy-838:
ok thanks.
at some point it just becomes a little too subjective to name a best ever list but yeah, i’d say he’s up there.
i’m guessing jimi more or less comes out tops though…
12 Dec 2011, 10:22 am
@Hooker22-841:
he could just be a really shy guy…
but yeah, nice work hurricane.
12 Dec 2011, 10:24 am
@au revoir mon tout noirs, au revoir…-843: well it started out with HG claiming Jimmi was overrated.
And then the trouble started.
Check out Hurricane’s Youtube clip. good stuff. The first one is better.
As you say, subjective to name an order.
I could give 50 names, and have favourites but that hardly makes me right.
12 Dec 2011, 10:28 am
@Hooker22-841:
lol
I am no oil painting bud but its about the guitar not me.
12 Dec 2011, 10:38 am
My 5 all time favourite guitarists are:
Jimmy Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana, Slash (Guns ‘n Roses) and last but not least BB King.
12 Dec 2011, 10:41 am
@Hurricane-846:
Your Youtube Santriani thing now has 168 hits.
Cool.
12 Dec 2011, 10:46 am
My top 5 guitarists:
- Peter Townsend.
- Stevie Ray Vaugh.
- Jimmy.
- Mick Taylor.
- Stephen Stills.
It’s a generation thing.
My generation.
12 Dec 2011, 10:46 am
@cane-848:
lol yeah rocking, could fill out the tavern in Wainuiomata with that support
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