The Springbok Sevens’ hope of a late run at an Olympic qualification was given a massive setback as they fell 31-7 to France in their opening game at the Toulouse Sevens on Friday.
The Blitzboks spoke earlier in the week of the possible mini-Olympics but were way out of their depth as the hosts smashed them and never gave them a chance.
Lying seventh, the Blitzboks need to try and get a semifinal spot if they are to have any chance of avoiding a qualification tournament ahead of next year’s Olympics but at the moment that seems a far way away with some tough games still to come.
The French led 12-0 at the break but turned the screws in the second half with just James Murphy scoring a try to stop it being a whitewash.
Fiji beat USA 21-12 in their match in Pool C with the Blitzboks facing the South Sea side in a crucial match at 9:03pm if they want to keep their chances alive.
They face USA at 1:49pm on Saturday in their final pool game.