Mike Greenaway
The Olympic dream is over for the South African women’s sevens team after they finished winless in their pool in Paris but they return home with their heads held high after a strong finale against Great Britain.
The Bok Women lost 26-17 to the British but showed vast improvement from their opening day when they were hammered 34-5 by Australia and 38-0 by Ireland.
The South Africans saved their best for last and were leading Great Britain 12-0 with 30 seconds left of the first half after early tries by stalwarts Libbie Janse van Rensburg and Nadine Roos.
The former scored pretty much from the kick-off and when Roos added the second, an upset was on the cards only for the South Africans to show inexperience that led to Britain turning the tide.
After Roos had scored, the restart was kicked out on the full, and from the resulting possession, a try was conceded. If the Bok ladies had handled that restart better, they could have been in control at half-time but, instead, Britain entered the dressing room perked up by their score on the half-time whistle.
Britain gathered momentum when they scored early in the second half and although Ayanda Malinga scored out wide after excellent exploitation of space, there was once more a mistake from the kick-off to gift Britain a try.
The Bok Women will know that they can score tries against the best and they will be a serious force once they eliminate their basic errors, notably from restarts when their concentration deserts them.
Meanwhile, SA Rugby president Mark Alexander has praised the men’s sevens squad for winning the bronze medal.
Alexander yesterday hosted the Blitzboks at a lunch on their arrival back in South Africa.
“They travelled as underdogs and not many people gave them a chance,” said Alexander. “But they proved that the South African fighting spirit is alive and well. They made us proud and we thank them.”
Alexander said that proactive steps will be undertaken to support the team in further Olympic endeavours.
“It will also be nice to have the team back in Cape Town in December when we host the HSBC SVNS tournament. I am sure the crowds will come out in numbers to support our bronze medallists,” he said.