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The Blitzboks' struggle to regain consistency continued at the Vancouver leg of the World Sevens Series in Canada, with Sandile Ngcobo's charges finishing ninth at the fourth event of their campaign.
Having opened the season by winning for a record 10th time, the Blitzboks have yet to finish on the podium, Vancouver being the latest inexplicable result. Drawn in a difficult Pool C, South Africa opened with a 21-12 win over defending champions New Zealand, before losing 17-12 and 22-10 to Great Britain and Ireland, respectively.
Those defeats meant the Blitzboks - who went into the tournament in fourth place on the table - didn't make the last eight of the tournament, their campaign petering out in respective 20-14 and 24-7 wins over Canada and Australia to claim ninth place.
26 February 06:40
Pumas claw New Zealand to seal Canada Sevens three-peat
Holders Argentina came from behind to defeat New Zealand 36-12 to win their third straight Canada Sevens crown in Vancouver on Sunday, tightening their grip on the eight-leg World Rugby SVNS Series.
The Pumas, fresh from victories at the Cape Town and Perth tournaments, once again signalled they are the form team of seven-a-side rugby with a scintillating performance to overwhelm their opponents.
New Zealand, who had knocked out Antoine Dupont and France in the semi-finals earlier Sunday, raced into an early 12-0 lead after tries from Joe Webber and Brady Rush in the first three minutes at BC Place.
But once Argentina clicked into gear, the New Zealanders were unable to cope, with Matias Osadczuk scoring a brilliant hat trick alongside tries from Marcos Moneta, Matteo Graziano and Luciano Gonzalez.
The win follows Argentina's victories in Vancouver in 2023 and 2022.
The Pumas have now gone 18 games unbeaten in the tournament during that period.
"It's incredible. I'm very proud of this team," Argentina skipper Santiago Alvarez said after the win.
"We give all for this team and you can see it on the field. I'm very proud. We are trying to be better each day and this is the focus for us."
Argentina now top the overall standings with 78 points from four tournaments, 24 points clear of Ireland and Fiji, who each have 54 points.
Earlier on Sunday, Argentina had advanced to the final with a 35-19 drubbing of the United States in their semi-final.
New Zealand, meanwhile, reached the final after eliminating France 28-26.
Despite the defeat, France's tournament ended on a bright note with a 42-12 romp over the United States to claim third place.
France's 15-a-side superstar Dupont - who had scored a last-gasp try to seal Saturday's quarter-final win over Ireland - capped an encouraging tournament with a superb playmaking performance against the Americans that included a try.
Dupont has opted to skip this year's Six Nations in order in order to focus on the abbreviated form of the game with an eye on this year's Paris Olympics.
The French superstar will now head to Los Angeles for the fifth stop on the global circuit next week.
In the women's event, meanwhile, New Zealand's Black Ferns cruised to a 35-19 win over France with veteran Portia Woodman-Wickliffe scoring a hat trick.
- AFP
25 February 07:08
Blitzboks to meet Aussies in effort to finish 9th at Vancouver Sevens
The Blitzboks can finish 9th at best at the Vancouver Sevens and they will meet Australia in that decider at 21:21 (SA time) on Sunday night.
It has been a dismal weekend for the South Africans in Canada, who lost to both Great Britain and Ireland to be knocked out of the Cup competition at the pool stages.
There was, however, some element of credibility restored as the Blitzboks knocked over the tournament hosts Canada 20-14 in the early hours of Sunday morning to book their place against Australia in the 9th place playoff.
South Africa's women's side, meanwhile, will meet Great Britain at 20:15 in the 11th/12th place playoff after they lost to Japan earlier on Sunday.
24 February 23:32
Blitzboks crash out after going down to Ireland
The Springbok Sevens side went down 22-10 to Ireland in their final Pool C game at the Vancouver Sevens on Saturday night.
The Irish ran in four tries to two in an utterly dominant display.
The Blitzboks had beaten New Zealand 21-12 in their opening game on Friday, before losing 17-12 to Great Britain.
The loss to Ireland sees the South Africans finish bottom of Pool C. They will now have to be content with a playoff for ninth position on Sunday.
Scorers:
SA 10 (5)
Tries: David Brits, Rosko Specman
Ireland 22 (10)
Tries: Zac Ward (2), Hugo Lennox, Gavin Mullin
Conversion: Billy Dardis
24 February 11:11
France roll as Dupont makes sevens debut in Vancouver
Antoine Dupont's bid for Olympic gold in Paris began in earnest on Friday as the former World Rugby Player of the Year made his World Rugby SVNS Series debut and helped France go unbeaten on day one in Vancouver.
Dupont, France's regular 15-a-side captain who was the World Rugby player of the year in 2021 and won the Six Nations Grand Slam during his 52 Test appearances, opted out of this year's Six Nations to chase the "holy grail" of Olympic gold in the scaled-down sevens format.
He came on as a replacement in both games as France beat the United States 24-12 then dominated Samoa 40-7 to take the lead in Pool B with the maximum six points - three clear of the United States and Samoa.
With one more pool match to come on Saturday the French are assured of a place in the quarter-finals.
France led the United States 19-7 when Dupont came on in the 11th minute and helped bring the victory home.
He came on in the 11th minute again against Samoa, and while he didn't score a try in his limited minutes he made his presence felt in the rucks.
- AFP
24 February 07:29
RESULT - Great Britain too good for Blitzboks in Vancouver
The Blitzboks couldn't bring the same energy as they were beaten by Great Britain in their Pool C clash at the Vancouver SVNS on Friday (Saturday morning SA time).
South Africa lost 12-17 against Great Britain after trailing 12-5 at half-time.
Great Britain dominated upfront early with two tries in three minutes through Ethan Waddleton and Tom Williams.
From then, South Africa have had to catch-up and replied with a try by Shilton van Wyk just before the break, cutting the lead to seven points.
Robbie Ferguson extended Great Britain's lead to 17-5 and even though Impi Visser scored a converted try with one minute to go, the Blitzboks ended up on the losing side.
The Blitzboks will have to beat Ireland in their final Pool C clash to keep their quarter-final hopes alive in BC Place on Saturday (23:05 SA time).
Scorers:
South Africa
Shilton van Wyk, Impi Visser
Conversion: Justin Geduld
Great Britain
Tries: Ethan Waddleton, Tom Williams, Robbie Furgusson
Conversion: Kaleem Barreto
24 February 07:19
RESULT - Blitzboks beat NZ in Vancouver SVNS opener
The Blitzboks defeated New Zealand in their opening encounter of the Vancouver SVNS at BC Place on Friday.
South Africa won 21-12 after leading 14-5 at half-time.
An early try by Selvyn Davids handed South Africa advantage, but New Zealand replied soon with a try of their own thanks to Cody Vai. However, Tristan Leyds extended the Blitzboks' lead to 14-5 at the break.
Davids scored again in the second half and his converted effort saw the Blitzboks get off to a strong start in Vancouver.
Scorers:
South Africa
Tries: Selvyn Davids (2), Tristan Leyds
Conversions: Davids (2)
New Zealand
Tries: Cody Vai (2)
Conversion: Akuila Rokolisoa
