THE Blitzbokke got their Hong Kong campaign of the HSBC
World Rugby Sevens Series to a winning start with a shaky 17-10 win over France
at the Hong Kong Stadium.
The South Africans, who lead the world series standings,
were quick out of the blocks by scoring two tries by Siviwe Soyizwaphi in the
second minute of the game followed by another three minutes later by Branco du
Preez.
Soyizwaphi’s try came from a turnover at the ruck when the
Mthatha-born speedster picked up the ball at the base of the French ruck to
sprint all of 70 metres for the opening score.
Du Preez’s try was engineered deep in the Blitzbokke’s half
from a failed clearance kick by France and after several phases of play and
quick recycling, it was Du Preez who cantered over the line and came within
three points of the magical 1000 points mark.
The Blitzbokke let their guard down in the closing two
minutes of the first half and they allowed France into the game with Terry
Bouhraoua scoring in the 5th minute before Jean Pascal Barraque completed the
comeback with a try to level the scores on the cusp of the half-time
interval.
It was the South Africans again who controlled most of the
second half and they were rewarded when star playmaker Cecil Afrika crashed
over in the 12th minute to eventually hand over his team a 17-10 win and put a
shine to his 50th tournament.
The Blitzbokke will play against Kenya (7.56am SA time) and
Canada (11.56am SA time) tomorrow in their remaining Pool B matches.
Blitzbok coach @Neil5Powell on his side's 17-10 win over France on the opening day of @OfficialHK7s pic.twitter.com/sX3x5kZpwc
— Springbok Sevens (@Blitzboks) April 7, 2017