South Africa to face tough Samoa in Hong Kong quarters
Kyle Brown is lifted by Boom Prinsloo during the match between South Africa and the United States on day two of the 2012 IRB Hong Kong Sevens at Hong Kong Stadium on March 24, 2012 in So Kon Po, Hong Kong. Photo by Chris McGrath/ Getty Images
The Springbok Sevens will face formidable Samoa on Sunday in the Cup quarter-final of the Hong Kong Sevens tournament after they finished second in Pool B.
Samoa won the USA title in Las Vegas in February and beat England 14-12 in their final pool match on Saturday at the prestigious Hong Kong tournament. South Africa experienced mixed results on Saturday.
The Blitzbokke beat the United States 15-7 in their first match on day two but later came unstuck against HSBC Sevens World champions New Zealand. Cecil Afrika, Stephan Dippenaar and William Small-Smith were the South African try scorers.
Three unanswered tries in the first half was enough to secure New Zealand a 19-10 victory over South Africa. Waisale Naholo, Charles Piutau and Jack Wilson scored the Kiwis’ tries in the first half.
South Africa scored twice in the second half through Cornal Hendricks and Chris Dry, but the Kiwis did enough on defence, despite playing with six men, to prevent their rivals from a crucial third score.
The South Africans will perhaps feel aggrieved that the referee did not punish Charles Piutau with a yellow card for an illegal shoulder charge on Pieter Engelbrecht. The player was eventually shown a yellow card in the second half for another danger tackle, when he lifted his opponent off the ground.
The draw for Sunday’s Cup quarter-finals are:
Fiji vs. Argentina
Australia vs. England
Samoa vs. South Africa
New Zealand vs. Wales
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