Sebastiaan Jobb scored two critical tries for the Blitzboks on the opening day of the Valladolid Sevens in Spain on Friday that kept the World Championship log leaders on track for back-to-back titles.
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The Blitzboks secured their place in the Valladolid Sevens cup quarter-finals after grinding out two tough victories on the opening day of the tournament in Spain on Friday.
The SVNS Series champions were pushed all the way in their Pool A encounters against Great Britain and Kenya, eventually emerging unbeaten to strengthen their bid for back-to-back titles in the three-leg SVNS World Championship.
However, despite the positive results, Philip Snyman’s charges will know they need to show significant improvement ahead of Saturday’s final pool clash against Australia, which will determine the group winners and shape their path through the knockout stages.
South Africa opened their campaign with a tense 17-12 victory over Great Britain, needing a golden-point try from playmaker Tristan Leyds deep into extra time to finally settle an error-strewn contest. The Blitzboks had hoped to avoid the sluggish start that nearly proved costly during the opening leg in Hong Kong, but once again struggled with handling errors and ill-discipline in the early stages.
Great Britain capitalised to take a 5-0 lead at the Estadio José Zorrilla before South Africa responded almost immediately through their leading try-scorer this season, Shilton van Wyk. The speedster collected a superb pass from Leyds inside the South African 22 before sprinting the length of the field to score under the posts, with the conversion handing SA a 7-5 half-time lead after a scrappy opening period.
South Africa looked far more composed after the interval and edged further ahead when Sebastiaan Jobb dotted down after collecting a clever kick behind the British defence. Dewald Human added the extras to make it 12-5.
But just as the Blitzboks appeared to have seized control, a fortunate bounce allowed Great Britain back into the contest, with Ricky Duarttee colliding with the post in the build-up to the equalising converted try. That sent the match into sudden-death extra time, where Leyds turned from provider to match-winner by slicing through a stretched defence after slick handling from right to left.
The second match against Kenya proved to be another bruising affair, with the East Africans once again showing why they remain one of the most physical teams on the circuit after also pushing South Africa close in Hong Kong.
Van Wyk opened the scoring with a well-read intercept try in a match dominated by tactical kicking and fierce breakdown battles. Leyds converted to hand the Blitzboks a 7-0 lead, but neither side managed to add to the scoreboard before half-time as penalties and errors repeatedly disrupted momentum.
Kenya continued to pressure the South Africans after the break, but the Blitzboks took full advantage when Denis Abukuse was shown a yellow card. Substitute Dewald Human produced a clever cross-kick to find Jobb in space out wide, with the winger finishing clinically to seal a hard-earned 14-0 victory.
While the Blitzboks remain unbeaten and firmly on course for another strong tournament run, the opening day highlighted the fact that cleaner execution and improved discipline will be essential against tougher opposition as the competition intensifies.