After defeat by New Zealand in the quarterfinals, France beat them 17-15 in the fifth-place playoff
01 December 2024 - 20:56
by Sports staff
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SA's Donovan Don scores in the quarterfinal against New Zealand on day two of the HSBC SVNS at The Sevens Stadium in Dubai on Sunday. Picture: GETTY IMAGES/CHRISTOPHER PIKE
Sports Staff — The Springbok Sevens’ grip on the Emirates Dubai 7s Trophy was finally broken at The Sevens Stadium on Sunday when they were defeated 24-17 by New Zealand in the cup quarterfinals.
Fiji beat Spain 19-5 in the grand final. More agony awaited in SA’s fifth-place final against France, where the Bliztboks were pipped 17-15.
Against France, the Blitzboks raced to a 10-0 lead in no time with tries by Donavan Don and David Brits, in the right- and left-hand corners, rewarding some good wide play by the men in green and gold.
Their second-half effort was less flattering though, as they allowed France to score two unanswered tries and with the scores level at 10-10, there was all to play for.
It seemed the Blitzboks had the result under wraps when Zain Davids got a try near the end of the game and a 15-10 lead, only for France to score in the final play of the match, with the try under the sticks resulting in a match-winning conversion by Stephen Parez.
The cup quarter against New Zealand was a classic. Both teams were in a position to win it with their last play, but while the Blitzboks spilt their potential scoring pass, the Kiwis grabbed theirs.
With the Blitzboks (trailing 17-19) on the attack, a loose pass by Shilton van Wyk found a New Zealand defender and they turned that into a try, their first win over SA at this venue in almost a decade.
Quewin Nortjé opened the scoring and Tristan Leyds converted for an early 7-0 lead before Ngarohi McGarvey-Black scored and converted to level things at the break.
Nortjé scored his second in the second half to push his side into the lead again before McGarvey-Black scored and converted again for New Zealand to take a 14-12 lead.
That was cancelled out by Don, who scored in the corner with two minutes left, handing his side a 17-14 lead.
Sofia Maka scored to hand his side a 19-17 lead, with Maka making the last errant Blitzboks pass count to score his second at the end of the half.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Blitzboks in sixth-place finish at Dubai 7s
After defeat by New Zealand in the quarterfinals, France beat them 17-15 in the fifth-place playoff
Sports Staff — The Springbok Sevens’ grip on the Emirates Dubai 7s Trophy was finally broken at The Sevens Stadium on Sunday when they were defeated 24-17 by New Zealand in the cup quarterfinals.
Fiji beat Spain 19-5 in the grand final. More agony awaited in SA’s fifth-place final against France, where the Bliztboks were pipped 17-15.
Against France, the Blitzboks raced to a 10-0 lead in no time with tries by Donavan Don and David Brits, in the right- and left-hand corners, rewarding some good wide play by the men in green and gold.
Their second-half effort was less flattering though, as they allowed France to score two unanswered tries and with the scores level at 10-10, there was all to play for.
It seemed the Blitzboks had the result under wraps when Zain Davids got a try near the end of the game and a 15-10 lead, only for France to score in the final play of the match, with the try under the sticks resulting in a match-winning conversion by Stephen Parez.
The cup quarter against New Zealand was a classic. Both teams were in a position to win it with their last play, but while the Blitzboks spilt their potential scoring pass, the Kiwis grabbed theirs.
With the Blitzboks (trailing 17-19) on the attack, a loose pass by Shilton van Wyk found a New Zealand defender and they turned that into a try, their first win over SA at this venue in almost a decade.
Quewin Nortjé opened the scoring and Tristan Leyds converted for an early 7-0 lead before Ngarohi McGarvey-Black scored and converted to level things at the break.
Nortjé scored his second in the second half to push his side into the lead again before McGarvey-Black scored and converted again for New Zealand to take a 14-12 lead.
That was cancelled out by Don, who scored in the corner with two minutes left, handing his side a 17-14 lead.
Sofia Maka scored to hand his side a 19-17 lead, with Maka making the last errant Blitzboks pass count to score his second at the end of the half.
SA Rugby Communications
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