Blitzboks return to winning ways

The South African Sevens side returned to winning ways as they walloped Japan 40-12 in the second pool match at the Vancouver Sevens, taking a step closer to qualifying for the Cup competition.

The Blitzboks led 26-0 at the break and looked a lot more polished than their first match, where they had to rally from 19-0 down against France to force a draw after the final whistle.

Again, it was captain Siviwe Soyizwapi who led from the front with a brace of tries, making it four in two matches now. This time, he was joined on the scoreboard by Christie Grobbelaar, Impi Visser, Ricardo Duarttee and newcomer Noegh Hayward as they romped to the win.

The stage is now set for their final pool match on Saturday night against an unbeaten Argentina side, a match which will be crucial for their hopes of redemption following their poor showing at the Los Angeles Sevens.

Argentina beat Japan 31-12 and then France 21-12 to have one foot in the quarterfinals, but a lot will hinge on the scorelines in the final two games. At the moment the win over Japan puts South Africa with a positive points difference of +28 while France are -9 and the results from the final two games will be incredibly important to see who goes through.

Kenya’s woes in the series continued as they lost both their opening games and look unlikely to qualify for the Cup. They held Fiji to 12-all for a while before a flurry in the last few minutes of the match saw the South Sea Islanders surge to a 31-12 win.

Kenya then lost their second match against Great Britain 26-12 and will now have to face the surprise team of the series Uruguay in their final match.

Uruguay, who beat the Blitzboks in Los Angeles, took another big scalp on the night as they downed Fiji 17-14 in a pulsating match.

The Blitzboks face Argentina at 23.26 on Saturday evening while Kenya face Uruguay at 22.20.