Blitzboks into semis as a new star is born

The Springbok Sevens have unearthed another massive gem as young Ricardo Duartee scored a brace of tries to help his side overcome a tough Samoan side 24-19 and move into the semifinals of the Dubai Sevens on Saturday.

The Blitzboks will now face New Zealand in their bid to make the final and add to their three consecutive Dubai Sevens titles on a field they are more than at home at.

But while the come from behind win against Samoa - they were 12-0 down in early action - was magnificent to watch, it was Duartee, who made his debut at the tournament that seems to be a future star in the making.

The Blitzbok newcomer, who only got his chance after Selvyn Davids and Ronald Brown were ruled out with injury, certainly set the game alight with an individual try where his sidestepping abilities came to the fore and he beat almost the entire Samoan team on attack and then added a second later on with a quick tap from a penalty that caught Samoa unawares.

He also had a hand in the try for Muller du Plessis late in the first half, beating three defenders to open the space for his teammate to score.

It was a magnificent reminder of how much talent the Blitzboks have at times and how they can unearth gems even though they are missing a number of players.

Samoa scored twice in the opening four minutes to open up a 12-0 lead but the fightback from the Blitzboks was exceptional to watch.

Duartee’s first try and Du Plessis score levelled matters before Samoa took the lead again. Then Duartee scored his second as Samoa infringed at the scrum and the sweeper took his chance to go in at the corner.

James Murphy rounded the corner in the final minutes to put the Blitzboks ahead and it was a perfect turnover on the final whistle by another newcomer Damon Blood that secured the win for the team.

New Zealand powered into the semis with a 20-0 win over France while Ireland and USA will compete in the other semifinal

QUARTERFINAL RESULTS

Argentina 14 Ireland 19
USA 24 Australia 19
France 0 New Zealand 20
South Africa 24 Samoa 17
SEMIFINALS
12.17pm Ireland vs USA
12.39pm New Zealand vs South Africa
FINAL at 5.26pm