Dewald Human scores as Blitzboks gain revenge against New Zealand at Cape Town Sevens

CAPE TOWN – The Blitzboks gained a measure of revenge by beating New Zealand 10-5 to finish third at the Cape Town Sevens on Sunday evening.

The South Africans were knocked out in the semi-finals by Fiji, and had to try to get up again for much-needed World Series points against their arch-rivals in the third-place playoff.

Coach Neil Powell had a depleted squad to choose from, with captain Philip Snyman, Zain Davids and Muller du Plessis all unavailable for their second encounter against the All Black Sevens.

The Kiwis had triumphed in dramatic fashion in a Pool A clash on Saturday, but this time around, the Blitzboks had their number.

The visitors, though, were first on the board when their dynamic captain Sione Molia pounced to dot down in the second minute.

Justin Geduld in action for the Blitzboks at the #CapeTown7s. Photo: Phandulwazi Jikelo/ANA Pictures

The South Africans had surged upfield through a Siviwe Soyizwapi break, but after good work by Ryan Oosthuizen, the ball was turned over and the Kiwis quickly found space for Molia to put them 5-0 up.

But it didn’t take long for the home team to strike pack. From a well-planned scrum move, Werner Kok kept the defence guessing and handed off a defender to level the scores.

After that, the Blitzboks enjoyed a lengthy period inside the New Zealand half, but were just unable to find a gap in the defence.

It looked like the match was heading for extra time, until speedster Dewald Human sped over on the left to clinch a 10-5 victory and 17 points on the World Series standings.