Positive start for Blitzboks in Hong Kong

The Springbok Sevens side promised a better performance than the lows they hit in Los Angeles and under new coach Phillip Snyman they immediately delivered.

After not qualifying for the Cup quarterfinals for the last two tournaments before Hong Kong, the Blitzboks won two from two in the opening morning of the Hong Kong Sevens to give themselves a positive start and one foot in the Cup playoffs.

They downed a tricky Ireland side with a powerful first half performance and then scored a tough win over a gritty Spanish side to remain unbeaten on day one. They will now face Samoa at 4.36am (CAT, GMT+2) on Saturday to complete their pool assignments.

But after the lows of Los Angeles the response may not have been perfect, but there is definitely a lot of fight left in the Blitzboks.

Against Ireland it was first Shilton van Wyk who hit the line hard on a flat ball from Selwyn Davids to ghost through untouched, before Dewald Human beat his man one on one on the blind side to add the second try.

Pressure turned into points as first Quewin Nortje steamed down the sideline to add the third try and then Ryan Oosthuizen was the extra man early in the second half to take a 22-0 lead.

But a red card to Justin Geduld was costly as it allowed Ireland back into the game. Still, they managed to hold on for a 22-17 victory.

The Blitzboks then put in a workmanlike performance against Spain, who had earlier shocked Samoa in their opening game, to lead 12-5 at the break before running out 24-10 winners.

Dewald Human was again the star for the Blitzboks and was this time joined on the scoreboard by Shaun Williams and Darren Adonis as the team made it two from two.

The Springbok Sevens Women’s side didn’t have a great day one, going down 20-7 to Ireland