Blitzboks unbeaten on Dubai day one

A second-half surge powered the Springbok Sevens team to win pool C at the Dubai Sevens on Friday, putting them in a strong position to compete for honours on Saturday.

The Blitzboks powered past Great Britain 31-12 to add to their previous wins over Japan and Ireland and end day one of the Sevens unbeaten.

But in the process, they lost rising star Muller du Plessis to an ankle injury which looks to have ended his tournament.

Still, the Blitzboks were just in front 12-5 at the break and Great Britain pulled level just after the break before they put the hammer down and ran away with the game late in the second half. 

Du Plessis scored and Siviwe Soyizwapi added tries on either side of halftime with Impi Visser and Branco du Preez making sure the victory was not only comprehensive, but sending out a message to other sides in the tournament as well.

This comes after the side swept aside Japan 52-12 and Ireland 28-14 in their earlier games.

They will play the second-placed side in pool B - which at the moment is a three-way tussle between Fiji, Australia and France in the quarterfinals on Saturday.