Blitzboks falter in Dubai after promising start in SVNS season-opener

The Springbok Sevens had a tough start to the new World Rugby SVNS Series, winning only one match in their pool of death at the Dubai tournament.

The Blitzboks finished last in Pool A, after opening with a victory over France, but falling to Fiji and Argentina. It means they will not be contesting for a 12th title in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday.

Argentina sealed a 19-14 win in the last match of the day, but the match was only a formality with both sides being knocked out after the French and Fijians ended first and second. Only the top two teams from each pool progress straight to the semi-finals in the new format.

The Argentines led 12-0 at halftime before a mini-comeback by the Blitzboks through Ronald Brown and Zander Reynders brought the lead in the second half. However, some shoddy defending opened the door for Argentina to score shortly after South Africa took the lead. From there, they played smartly to seal the game.

Earlier on Saturday, the Blitzboks opened the tournament with a hard-fought 15-12 win over France, before falling to Fiji 28-10 in a heavy defeat that put the first major dent in their chances of reaching the final.

While the Springbok Sevens scored first against the French in that first encounter, they had to rely on some strong defence to keep their opponents from pulling ahead when the score was 7–5.

Two more tries — one from hot-stepper Donovan Don and another from Christie Grobbelaar — helped the South Africans secure the result. The French kept pushing, however, and scored a late try to bring the final score closer than head coach Philip Snyman would have liked.

The second game against Fiji was one to forget.

After playmaker Brown opened the scoring with a well-worked try, the Fijians replied with four unanswered tries that rattled the Blitzboks.

Nothing went South Africa’s way, and they struggled to build any momentum. Tristan Leyds managed a consolation try near the end, but allowing the South Sea Islanders to dictate the tempo proved to be the Blitzboks’ undoing.

Once Fiji found their rhythm and the passes started to stick, it became difficult for the famed South African defence to stop the even more famous Fijian flair.

It was a first taste of the new format for the Blitzboks, and they now know that three victories in their pool games going forward will be the only way to secure their place in playoff matches. This was a good learning curve, but not a good enough performance by the South Africans.

They have plenty to fix ahead of the Cape Town tournament, where they are the defending champions.