Fiji compound Blitzboks’ woes
1 Apr 2012
The Springbok Sevens lost two of their three fixtures on the second day of the Tokyo Sevens, which ended with a 14-10 Plate final defeat to Fiji.
It was a tight match in the first half as South Africa trailed the Pacific Islanders 7-5 at the break. Branco du Preez’s try made it a two-point game as Waisea Nayacalevu scored earlier in the stanza.
The Blitzboks suffered a big blow when Cornal Hendricks was yellow carded, and Fiji capitalised on their one-man advantage to claim a converted try through Nikola Matawalu. Chris Dry’s score late in the game created an exciting finish, but Fiji managed to hold on for the win and the Plate title.
Meanwhile, Australia won their first tournament as they downed Samoa 28-26 in the Cup final, while New Zealand beat England 24-17 in the third/fourth-place play-off.
Earlier on day two, Paul Treu’s men picked up a comfortable win over Wales in the Plate semi-finals as they never relinquished the lead in the contest. Skipper Kyle Brown and Stephan Dippenaar were on hand to give South Africa a 12-5 half-time advantage. Dippenaar completed his brace in the second stanza, while Cornal Hendricks also dotted down to seal the win.
In the Cup quarter-finals, the Blitzboks conceded a last-minute try as England picked up a 21-17 triumph.
South Africa led 12-7 at the break as Brown and Dippenaar crossed the chalk. William Small-Smith then extended that lead to 10 points after scoring early in the second half. However, Dan Norton and Bishops old boy Mat Turner dotted down late in the game to steal the win for England.
The Bliztboks fixtures day two:
South Africa 17 England 21
South Africa 22 Wales 10
South Africa 10 Fiji 14
Click here for all day two fixtures and results
15 Comments
1 Apr 2012, 04:08 am
The Blitzedboks once again got thrashed by the tough, hard-running Pacific Islanders…
1 Apr 2012, 05:45 am
And they wimped out against England too…
1 Apr 2012, 07:34 am
exit the dragon…
1 Apr 2012, 13:49 pm
We are the only team that play the kind of idiotic sevens we try to play. How does making contact in sevens help in ANY way… honestly. Treu is a poor coach and will always be poor.
1 Apr 2012, 14:07 pm
LemonBoks
1 Apr 2012, 18:14 pm
You only hate what you fear.
1 Apr 2012, 18:45 pm
@Shark(Predawn)-6: I love sevens, we just tend to not play it the way it should be. On the occasion that we do, we’re actually remarkably good.
1 Apr 2012, 18:48 pm
Bottom line here is the Blitz boks cant match the Islanders in 7s which has become much more physical now with counter rucks and gang tackles
Samoa Fiji and ABs are just too physical for the skinny blitz boks
1 Apr 2012, 18:53 pm
time for a new coach , Treu’s had his time. Every year it’s the same story. And I agree what is the SA 7′s game plan? Poor coach , **** or get off the pot
1 Apr 2012, 19:04 pm
@rugby_only(rugby_only)-9:
I think its more its the players who just are not as physical as some of the islander teams including ABs
We are ok against french and Wales and Argies but are getting blown away by bigger faster stronger islanders
1 Apr 2012, 21:21 pm
And by the England team. Sans islanders.
1 Apr 2012, 21:27 pm
@TheTackler(TheTackler)-11:
Not always Blitz bok have had some success against them, but out of N H teams yes they are most physical
1 Apr 2012, 22:38 pm
At the 2016 Olympics there will be a gold medal up for grabs for Sevens. Guess who is not even going to make bronze unless there is a HUGE wake-up and a big shake-up?
1 Apr 2012, 23:58 pm
only those already suffering from impaired vision “fear” playing the Yappies.
2 Apr 2012, 09:55 am
Paul Treu just has no clue about what the hell he ought to do.
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