Blitzboks lose ground in New Zealand
South Africans finish a distant fourth after Fiji take the title by beating the US
Blitzbok coach Neil Powell conceded that his team had been outmuscled at times during the first two legs of the HSBC World Sevens Series and after round three they appear no nearer to finding a solution. The Blitzboks ended fourth in Hamilton‚ the New Zealand leg of the 10-tournament series‚ but lost ground to eventual winners Fiji‚ runners-up the US and New Zealand, who finished third. The US and Fiji now head the standings with 57 points‚ New Zealand are third with 54 points and SA are a distant fourth on 44 points. The top four teams automatically qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. The Blitzboks lost 29-7 to Fiji in the semifinals and by the same scoreline in the third/fourth playoff against New Zealand‚ and both times SA struggled at the breakdown and in contact. Powell‚ who is rebuilding the team that won the last two World Series‚ admitted last week that he might have underestimated the task initially‚ but he can be under no illusions now. Despite having speed and skill...
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