Johannesburg – The Springbok Sevens scored three wins on Friday to top Pool D and book a quarterfinal spot against Kenya at the Dubai Sevens, Round Two of the HSBC Sevens World Series.
South Africa outscored powerful Samoa by four tries to one in their final pool encounter to register a comfortable 26-5 win and book a clash with Kenya on Saturday.
“It's much tougher these days. You have to punch all the way through and win that last game in your pool,” SA Sevens captain Kyle Brown said.
“We're just so happy to be in the quarterfinals and we'll give it our all tomorrow.”
In their two other pool matches earlier on Friday, the Springbok Sevens beat Argentina 17-7 and then swept aside Russia 34-5.
The first half against Samoa was a bruising affair, but SA managed to clinch the lead at half-time thanks to a converted try by Sampie Mastriet.
Samoa hit back almost immediately to make the half-time score 7-5.
The Springbok Sevens started the second half in much better fashion and Branco du Preez scored their second try after a good scrum effort.
Werner Kok then crossed the line for their third try, and his second of the tournament, after a mistake by Samoa near their try line.
Speedster Justin Geduld, one of several replacements in the second half, scored a fourth try from a quick penalty tap to put the game out of reach for Samoa, who won the title last year after defeating New Zealand in the Cup final.
Against Russia, powerful running forward Jamba Ulengo scored twice and was joined on the scoresheet by Du Preez, Phillip Snyman, Mastriet and Kok, who dotted down for his first ever try in the World Series.
In their opening match, South Africa scored three times and Argentina once, although the South Americans enjoyed greater territorial advantage for much of the match.
Ulengo got the Springbok Sevens on the scoreboard after he raced away from the defence to score in the corner. Veteran forward Frankie Horne doubled the score to 10-0 a minute later after he powered his way over the try line.
Argentina struck back in the second half with a converted try to reduce the difference to just three points at 10-7. However, clever play by Chris Dry saw South Africa stretch their lead to 17-7 after he took a quick penalty tap to score under the posts.
New Zealand currently leads the World Series standings after their success at the Gold Coast in Australia. They have 22 points and are followed by Australia (19), England (17) and South Africa (15).
Round three of the HSBC Sevens World Series, the Nelson Mandela Bay Sevens, takes place next weekend in Port Elizabeth.
The South African women's sevens team (SA Select Women) advanced to the semi-finals of Dubai International Invitational after registering victories in all three of their round-robin matches on Friday.
The team got their campaign off to an encouraging start with a convincing 28-0 victory against the West Coast Vikings from Sweden, and supported this with a 36-5 victory against local competitors Tuks.
The team then posted a 26-10 win against Moscow Region to book a semi-final berth against the Kenya Lionesses on Saturday.
“I am pleased with the quality of rugby the ladies produced today,” national women's sevens coach Renfred Dazel said.
“We arrived in Dubai with the goal of finishing as the top team in our pool, and we achieved that. The next challenge will be to replicate that form in the knock-out stages.
“It was particularly pleasing to see the hard work we have put in during the last few weeks on the training field pay off, and it was equally encouraging to see how the new players responded to the challenge of playing in their first overseas tournament.”
Dazel said it was vital they build on this form on Saturday.
“We are under no illusions about the challenge ahead. Just as we are determined to lift our performance, the other teams will look to do the same, so the ladies will have to raise their game.
“However, they showed that they have the talent to win the competition, so it is now a case of sticking to the structures and believing in themselves and their abilities.” – Sapa