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The
Blitzboks clinched their fourth title in five tournaments of the HSBC World
rugby series with a 19-12 victory over Fiji in the final played at Sam Boyd
Stadium in Las Vegas.
Fiji scored
first after four minutes of the final, but a converted try by Cecil Afrika had
the Blitzboks back in the lead at the break.
Leading
tackler in the series, Chris Dry, should his versatility with a try early in
the second half to put South Africa 14-5 ahead, before Specman ran more than 50
meters to score the decisive try. Fiji did score again, but that was too late
to stop the Blitzboks earning a fourth tournament this year.
Blitzboks
currently lead the overall HSBC World rugby sevens rankings with 107 points, 24
points ahead of beaten finalists, Fiji, who has 83 point. England occupies the
third place with 81 points.
Blitzboks
coach, Neil Powell praised the team’s ability to come back when the chips were
down.
“I am very
pleased with the result, even though it was not the most clinical performance from
our side, but we got the win. I would rather win ugly than to lose pretty,”
Powell said after the match.
The Blitzbokke travelled to North America
without the services of the 2016 IRB player of the year, Seabelo Senatla, and
kwagga Smith who are both involved in Super Rugby competition.
According to
Powell, the absence of these two players showed the squad’s depth, and fighting
spirit.
“I thought
Siviwe Soyizwapi and Dylan Sage did very well in taking the roles of the
absence stalwarts. We are pretty blessed
with our depth in the squad. It is good for the players also to realise that
the structure is a sound one and as long as they look after it, the better the
structure will look after them,” Powell explained.
The team’s
next tour takes them to Vancouver sevens where the Blitzboks will face Chile,
Kenya and England in Pool A.
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