The South Africans have never won the Hong Kong Sevens – the only tournament in Sevens history they have not won on the World circuit. The men from South Africa delivered an almost faultless performance in their semi-final match against New Zealand, winning by 26-14, having led 14-0 at halftime.

Tristan Lleyds scored the first try of the match with two minutes to go in the first half, which he also converted. A yellow card for New Zealand’s Roderick Solo after the restart did not help matters for the men in black. 

Second half

The Blitzboks made the most of the numbers advantage, and Sebastiaan Jobb crossed over after the hooter.  Selwyn Davids converted to give the South Africans a comfortable lead at the break.

In the second half, Shilton van Wyk and Ryan Oosthuizen scored for the Blitzboks, but Akuila Rokolisoa and Michael Manson scored late consolation tries for New Zealand. Argentina beat Spain 19-12 in the other semifinal and will be defending the title they won last year at this stadium.

The Blitzboks beat NZ to reach the Hong Kong SVNS final. Photo: X/HSBC SVNS

The Springbok Women’s Sevens finished their Hong Kong campaign on a disappointing note on Sunday (19/4) after being outplayed 25-10 by Argentina.

It means they finished in 12th spot overall and now have a mountain to climb in the remaining two HSBC SVNS World Championship events in Spain and France if they want to finish in the top eight and regain core status for next season.

OFM Sport/Ilse Smalberger dg