Blitzboks coach Philip Snyman Blitzboks head coach Philip Snyman watched his team book their place in the 9th place final of the Hong Kong Sevens.
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A try in the dying minutes by Siviwe Soyizwapi and a clutch conversion from Dewald Human secured a 19-17 victory for the Blitzboks over Kenya at the Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens, ensuring a ninth-place finish – their worst of the HSBC SVNS season so far.
The Blitzboks started strongly, racing to a 12-0 lead through early tries from Shilton van Wyk and Gino Cupido. However, a series of breakdown penalties and defensive lapses allowed Kenya to claw back, leveling the scores at halftime.
The second half saw South Africa fall behind before Soyizwapi’s late heroics, sparked by Selvyn Davids off the bench, rescued the result.
Despite the win, head coach Philip Snyman did not shy away from criticism, taking full responsibility for a disappointing weekend.
"That was not our standard, and I have to take this one on the chin," he admitted. Inconsistent performances, including losses to Australia and New Zealand, saw the team drop out of the top eight for the first time this season.
Snyman pointed to poor breakdown work and wasted opportunities as key areas of concern. "You cannot play rugby like that – we lost possession eight times and conceded six penalties against New Zealand.
“We need to fix that with Singapore looming."
Amid the disappointment, Snyman found a silver lining in the emergence of new talent. Debutant Gino Cupido impressed with four tries, while Zander Reynders also showed promise in his first starts. "We are blooding new players and growing our squad depth – that, at least, was a positive," said Snyman.
Despite their struggles, the Blitzboks remain fourth in the overall series standings. However, they have lost ground to log leaders Argentina and face mounting pressure from the chasing pack.
With Singapore up next, the squad will be looking for a strong response to put their Hong Kong setbacks behind them.
Scorers:
South Africa 19 (12) – Tries: Shilton van Wyk, Gino Cupido, Siviwe Soyizwapi. Conversions: Ricardo Duarttee, Dewald Human.
Kenya 17 (12) – Tries: Nygel Pettersan Amaitsa (2), Patrick Odongo Okong'o. Conversion: Nygel Pettersan Amaitsa.
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