You could see how much the pool-stage defeat had hurt the Blitzboks, and they got their revenge in fine style as they thumped Australia 22-5 to advance to the Rio Olympics semi-finals.
So the Springbok Sevens’ journey to the gold medal is still alive, and they will take on Great Britain in Thursday’s semi-final (8pm SA time), with Fiji and Japan squaring off in the other playoff (7.30pm).
Whereas the Blitzboks looked half asleep in going down 12-5 in the final Pool B game earlier on Wednesday at the Deodoro Stadium, Neil Powell’s team came out determined to prove that they are genuine contenders for the gold medal.
And didn’t they just. The drive and energy of Kwagga Smith was back as he smothered the Australians with his work-rate and physicality, while captain Kyle Brown was a picture of precision and skill as he led his men by example.
It was the skipper who began the downfall of South Africa’s traditional sport foes as he ran into space and delivered an exceptional inside pass to a flying Rosko Specman, who made up for his two earlier missed tackles by finishing off to put his team in front.
Then the experience and class of Cecil Afrika came to the fore as the dreadlocked playmaker burst clear from deep inside his own half to cut the defensive line, before Juan de Jongh and Afrika again ensured that Seabelo Senatla had an easy run-in to hand South Africa a 10-0 lead.
Australia were shell-shocked, but worked their way back into the game as for once Smith missed a tackle near the halfway line, and Afrika missed two more as Tom Cusack repeated his pool-game touchdown in the quarter-final.
That was an unexpected five-pointer just before halftime as the Blitzboks looked well in control, and the pressure was ramped up as Senatla had the ball ripped away five metres from the South African line.
A try for the Australians would’ve levelled matters, but they knocked-on to give their opponents a lucky escape.
That may have been the turning point as seconds later the Aussies lost possession in contact again as they tried to run over the Blitzbok defenders.
De Jongh nearly produced a sensational finish in the left-hand corner as a trademark hand-off saw him get to the line, but his foot was virtually on the touchline as he lost the ball forward in the act of scoring. The Springbok centre was in an awkward position as he tried to place the ball almost over his head, with the TMO ruling a knock-on.
But the South Africans didn’t need to worry as captain fantastic Brown bashed his way through the Australian defence, and Senatla rounded things off as De Jongh’s hack-ahead was chased by Snyman, who forced the Australian defender to knock the ball back in goal, and Senatla fell on the ball to seal the victory.
Coach Powell will be hoping that his two-try hero Senatla didn’t hurt his wrist too badly after he fell hard to the ground in the last movement of the game, and stayed down to receive treatment.
A bizarre 0-0 fulltime scoreline between Great Britain and Argentina was greeted with loud boos by the fans at the Deodoro Stadium, but it was an indication of how much it meant to both sides that their defensive efforts were at its optimum as they wanted to stay in the hunt for a gold medal.
A unique “golden point” situation followed in the five-minute extra time halves, and the deadlock was eventually broken by Dan Bibby, who slipped through the brave Argentina defence to claim victory after Tom Mitchell had struck an upright with a penalty attempt moments earlier.
New Zealand’s lengthy injury list caught up with them once again as they felt the absence of Sonny Bill Williams and Joe Webber in going down 12-7 to the highly fancied Fiji.
The match wasn’t of the highest quality as both teams tried to outmuscle each other and lacked the speed that can break open games in this format. Even though Augustine Pulu gave the Kiwis a 7-5 halftime lead with his conversion of Gillies Kaka’s try, it wasn’t enough as Seremaia Tuwai grabbed the decisive five-pointer in the second half to secure Fiji’s passage to the last-four.
In the second quarter-final, Japan stunned France 12-7, with Teruya Goto scoring the winning try in the dying seconds under the posts to break French hearts.
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POINTS-SCORERS
South Africa – Tries: Rosko Specman, Seabelo Senatla (2), Kyle Brown. Conversion: Cecil Afrika (1).
Australia – Try: Tom Cusack.
Semi-Final Line-Up (SA Times)
Fiji vs Japan (7.30pm), South Africa vs Great Britain (8pm)
Quarter-Final Results
Fiji 12 New Zealand 7, Japan 12 France 7, Great Britain 5 Argentina 0, South Africa 22 Australia 5