Sevens masterclass gives Blitzboks gold

A Sevens masterclass by the Springbok Sevens side allowed them to claim gold at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham on Sunday night as they swept aside Fiji 31-7 in a one-sided final.

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There are few times that you would see the Olympic Champions being so comprehensively outplayed as they were in the final, but this was a masterclass where the Blitzboks didn’t allow the South Sea magicians any leeway and ensured they took the flair and magic out of the contest to claim a magnificent gold.

With it the Blitzboks repeated their Commonwealth triumph in Glasgow in 2014, and gave themselves a boost ahead of the World Cup at home in September.

This was no mean feat considering they lost the services of captain Siviwe Soyizwapi and playmaker Ronald Brown to injury before the final.

Tries by Muller du Plessis in both halves were crucial in the victory as the Blitzboks smothered the Fijian attack and allowed them no room to attack.

Their work at the breakdown was crucial with several turnovers turning the game in their favour as the Pacific Islanders struggled to contain the physicality of the Blitzboks on the park.

Du Plessis started the rout with a try out wide in the second minute, and JC Pretorius, who was a monster in terms of physicality, matched it by disrupting the Fijians, turning over a ball and running in the second try to put the Blitzboks 12-0 up.

Shaun Williams scored before the break to send the South Africans into a 17-0 halftime lead.

Du Plessis added a second early in the second half before Fiji finally found some space and became the first team this weekend to score in the second half against Neil Powell’s side as Waisea Nacuqu went over to give them hope.

But that hope was snuffed out as Mfundo Ndhlovu handed off a defender to score the crucial try to seal the game and give the Blitzboks a famous victory and a gold medal to boot.