CAPE TOWN – South Africa’s Blitzboks rounded off Saturday’s Day 1 at the Hamilton Sevens in superb fashion when they ran England ragged for a 28-7 win in their final Pool B match in New Zealand.
The South Africans led 21-0 at the break after Seabelo Senatla bagged a hat trick of tries, and Justin Geduld banged over all the conversions, which included two from the touchline.
The eventual 28-7 victory sent out a strong statement to their more fancied teams because the Blitzboks have been hit hard by injuries to at least three first-choice players, but the replacements – who have barely had time to shake off jet-lag – have stepped up to the plate.
A key element of their victory over England was their breakdown supremacy, which led to countless turnovers.
As a result, England were allowed into the game and were forced to settle for mostly defensive roles.
The Blitzboks won all 3 their games on Day 1 of the @NZ_Sevens to top Pool B. They defeated 🇵🇬 PNG 36-5, 🇷🇺 Russia 38-0 and 🏴 28-7. Captain @kylegbrown happy with the day’s work. @ASICS_ZA pic.twitter.com/vfzv9vCCLr
— Springbok Sevens (@Blitzboks) February 3, 2018
Earlier on Saturday, the Blitzboks conceded a single try in their two opening pool matches.
Papua New Guinea initially offered stubborn resistance but went down 36-5, and then Russia suffered a whitewash 38-0 defeat.