Rugby
Blitzboks clinch late win against the USA─── MORGAN PIEK 09:43 Fri, 24 Jan 2025

The Blitzboks opened their Perth 7s campaign in Australia with a hard-fought victory, courtesy of a late try against the USA for a 24-19 win.
The Springbok Sevens explosively started their tournament, with Ricardo Duarttee scoring an unconverted try in the game’s opening minute. Mere minutes later, the speedster Quewin Nortje won the foot race to the try line, crossing the whitewash for South Africa’s second try. This time, Duarttee managed to add the extra two points.
Straight from the restart, the Blitzboks were reduced to six men for two minutes when Impi Visser was issued a yellow card for tackling an American player in the air.
The USA capitalised on the one-man advantage, with Will Chevalier scoring a converted try to get themselves on the board. Chevalier struck again on the stroke of halftime, and Steve Tomasin landed a second conversion to give the USA a 14-12 lead at the break.
Special day for #ZainDavids at #hsbcsvnsperth as he hits 5?0? tournaments! #PoweredByUnity pic.twitter.com/CmlpQYDYlO
— Springbok Sevens (@Blitzboks) January 23, 2025
The USA scored first in the second half, with Lucas Lacamp crossing the line to extend their lead to 19-12.
With the clock ticking down, returning captain Selvyn Davids scored in the corner to keep South Africa’s hopes alive. A minute later, Davids appeared to go in for his brace, but the TMO rightly ruled the final pass forward, and the score was disallowed.
Ronald Brown, however, had the last say, flying over on the stroke of full-time for the match-winning try. Brown made no mistake with the conversion of his try, closing the game out at 24-19 in favour of South Africa.
Ronald Brown. Photo: SA Rugby
In the other Pool A match, Argentina beat Australia 31-26.
The Blitzboks will be in action again on Friday when they face the hosts, Australia. This game is scheduled to kick off at 13:52.
Scorers:
Blitzboks: Tries – Ricardo Duarttee, Quewin Nortjé, Selvyn Davids, Ronald Brown Conv. – Duarttee, Brown
USA: Tries - Will Chevalier 2, Lucas Lacamp Conv. - Steve Tomasin 2