Injuries catch up as brave Blitzboks beaten by All Blacks in Sydney final
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Loading... - Ahmaraah Johan
- 30 Jan 2023
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South Africa moved up to second spot on series log
It wasn't to be for the Springbok Sevens team after a tough weekend of playing excellent rugby and losing key players to injury finally caught up with them when New Zealand beat the Blitzboks 38-0 in the final of the HSBC Sydney Sevens on Sunday.
The Blitzboks were in superb form leading up to the final, which included a 17-14 win over NZ in their pool clash on Saturday and a big 31-12 victory over Fiji in the semifinals, but they failed to replicate that form in the final.
Losing Siviwe Soyizwapi and Ryan Ooshuizen to injuries earlier on the weekend, Jaiden Baron after the semifinal and Impi Visser early in the final, also made life difficult for the South Africans.
Ill-discipline and defensive errors, two areas where they were good in their first five games, cost the Blitzboks as New Zealand made them pay with their power game while also dominating possession and territory.
Roderick Solo, Joe Webber and Sam Dickson scored first-half tries as the All Blacks Sevens took a comfortable 17-0 lead at the break, while the Blitzboks hardly had any meaningful possession.
They put up more of a fight in the second half, but the energy simply wasn't there and New Zealand scored their fourth try, by Akuila Rokolisoa, with two minutes to go, effectively sealing the Sydney title. Amanaki Nicole and Ngarohi McGarvey-Black grabbed two late five-pointers for the Kiwis after more mistakes by the South Africans. Read More…
