Blitzboks down All Blacks for emphatic Dubai 7s win

The Springbok Sevens team produced a breathtaking performance to whitewash New Zealand 15-0 and win the Dubai Sevens to kick off their World Sevens Series in style.

The Blitzboks were dominant from start to finish as they dismantled New Zealand’s physical approach to go through the tournament unbeaten and grab maximum points in the process.

The win kicks off their Series in style and will make them favourites ahead of the Cape Town Sevens next weekend.

"The final against New Zealand was incredible and the players deserve a lot of credit. It was very tight. In the first half there were a couple of end-to-ends and they scrambled so well," Blitzbok coach Neil Powell said after the match.

"We had turnovers and attacked, but their scramble defence was excellent and we just could not score. We stayed in control of the match though and that was the difference. From the kick-off we had control.”

The Blitzboks were held up twice, but scored at the end of the first half through Shakes Soyizwapi after fluffing two tries earlier on to lead 5-0 at the break.

First it was Chris Dry who lost the ball going over the line and then Zane Davids was held up over the line as the Blitzboks were creating opportunities but couldn't convert.

The breakthrough came late in the first half when Soyizwapi finally found some space to coast in at the corner and the team never looked back.

Early in the second half Rosko Specman kicked a Hail Mary downfield and chased like a demon, catching Kurt Baker on his own tryline and dragging him over to force the five metre scrum.

From the scrum the Blitzboks pounded the line, finally watching Seabelo Senatla slip a beautiful pass to Dry to score the second and put them into double figures.

With New Zealand pressing as the clock wound down, a dropped ball in the midfield was toed ahead by Senatla and when the ball entered his clutches, he put the hammer down and used his sensational speed to run it in and seal the game.

The match was only the second time in New Zealand's history that they had been held scoreless in a final of a tournament, but it was a victory that was much more emphatic than the scoreline suggested.

Rosko Specman won the player of the tournament title.

Powell said they will travel back home to South Africa with some confidence for next weekend's HSBC Cape Town Sevens, from 13-15 December.

"Coming to Dubai, it was not really about the outcome, but the process we needed to implement. We had a great effort out here and if we can repeat that, we can be successful in Cape Town again," said Powell.