South Africa face Argentina for place in final of USA Sevens
The Springbok Sevens team made it five in a row in the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series by qualifying for the Cup semifinals of the HSBC USA Sevens, being played at the Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas.
The Blitzboks outplayed Australia 29-17 on Saturday night (USA) time to make it into the final four of the event and will now face Argentina for a place in the final.
Defending World Series and USA Sevens champions, South Africa’s consistency came to the fore yet again, as they have now qualified for the last four in Dubai, Cape Town, Sydney, Hamilton and Las Vegas, the five tournament stops so far in the 2017/18 World Series.
Earlier in Day Two, South Africa also outplayed England 24-19, resulting in the Blitzboks to finish top of pool B.
Springbok Sevens captain, Philip Snyman, was proud of the combined effort of the squad and very pleased that a number of younger players used the opportunity to show their class. Muller du Plessis made his debut against Australia and both Selvyn Davids and Ryan Oosthuizen scored tries for the first time in the Blitzboks jersey.
“We are on tour as a family and we treasure those special moments with the new players. We stick with each other in the bad times, but also enjoy the good moments together. That is part of what makes this team so special,” said Snyman.
The 51-tournament veteran feels the team are starting to believe and find each other as they developed as a squad in some tough pool matches against Wales, Canada, England and then Australia.
“We really had to dig deep against the Aussies, who were very physical. However, to finish the match with four youngsters on the field was a massive boost for the system. Those guys did well and they will still go far in their careers.”
Argentina awaits and Snyman is aware of their abilities. “They are also very consistent this year, with lots of speed and physicality. We need to start all over on Sunday.”
Springboks Sevens assistant coach, Renfred Dazel, who said they would do a proper analysis on the South Americans before the semifinal, echoed this sentiment. .
“They are a very direct team and love to do lots of off-loads as well. We will have to look at ways to outsmart them.”
Scorers:
SA vs England: Tries: Siviwe Soyizwapi (2), Cecil Afrika, Philip Snyman. Conversions: Branco du Preez (2).
SA vs Australia: Tries: Philip Snyman, Ryan Oosthuizen, Cecil Afrika, Ruhan Nel, Selvyn Davids. Conversions: Branco du Preez, Cecil Afrika.
Head-to-Head vs Argentina:
South Africa won 40, Argentina 12, 1 Draw. Average score: 22-10.
Last met: London 2017, SA won 24-7.
Cup Semifinals: (SA time):
23h11: USA v Fiji
23h34: SA v Argentina
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