Springbok Sevens coach Sandile Ngcobo heaped praise on his players as the Blitzboks advanced to the semi-finals of the HSBC Sydney Sevens on Sunday, where they will face Fiji.
The Blitzboks defeated Uruguay (28-12) and New Zealand (17-14) in their Pool B contests before eliminating Ireland (26-12) from the Cup tournament on Saturday morning to keep their title ambitions alive.
The Blitzboks required a late penalty goal by Ricardo Duartee against the All Blacks Sevens to secure first place in their pool, and then followed that up with a clinical effort against Ireland.
It was a significant improvement from the previous weekend in Hamilton, when the Blitzboks lost both of their knockout-round matches at the HSBC NZ Sevens. One of these losses was against Ireland, and for Ngcobo, the team’s performance in Sydney against the same opponent was personal.
“Everyone agreed after Hamilton that we could not be satisfied with those performances and that we needed to represent the badge and all that it stands for with everything we had,” he stated.
“Today, the lads accomplished that, and I am really proud. Today’s performances were also for the wounded players, including Selvyn Davids, who returned home, Siviwe Soyizwapi, and Ryan Oosthuizen, who were hurt here.
This performance also represented the men from Stellenbosch, and it was gratifying to see the effort. I am really proud.”
Ngcobo stated that the players’ implementation of the game plan was just what the coaching staff had requested: “We reminded them about the system and how it trumps individual effort, and we witnessed that on the field.
“Defending like we did against New Zealand with only six players on the field demonstrated that the guys took it personally and trusted each other, which is a key component of our system.”
The coach expected a strong start against Ireland, and he got it when Christie Grobbelaar scored twice within the first five minutes to put the Blitzboks ahead 12-0.
BLITZBOKS WILL FACE FIJI AT 07:28 (SA TIME) “We wanted to score first and maintain pressure from there,” said Ngcobo.
“We presently have a highly diverse team, which aids in our execution. We reaped the benefits of the elder players’ vast experience and ability to keep the team together, while the younger guys brought tremendous energy.
“I instructed the young men to go out and play their game, which is why they were selected, and they performed admirably.”
Sunday’s semifinal vs Fiji will begin at 07:28 (SA time). At 07:06, New Zealand and France will compete in the other semifinal (SA time).
Finals are set to begin at 11:26 (SA time).
Regarding Sunday’s semi-final against Fiji, Ngcobo stated that it will be crucial for the players to have adequate rest and return with the same mentality that characterized their performances on Saturday.
The Blitzboks advanced to the semi-finals of the HSBC Sydney Sevens with a 26-12 victory over Ireland in the quarterfinal, thanks to a combination of perfect rugby, individual brilliance, and some luck.
The victory was the Springbok Sevens’ fourth in a row in Sydney after they topped their pool by defeating Uruguay and New Zealand, and they avenged their loss to Ireland in the fifth-place semi-final last weekend in Hamilton.
Christie Grobbelaar scored in the first minute for the Blitzboks as the men in green and gold ran wide and Dalvon Blood provided a wonderful inside pass to allow Grobbelaar to gallop 55m downfield for the five points, which became seven when Ricardo Duartee completed the conversion.
A few minutes later, Grobbelaar scored again, this time after Impi Visser evaded several challenges and placed his forward teammate over from close range.
Aaron O’Sullivan scored for Ireland with two minutes remaining before halftime, but the Blitzboks had the last word in the first half when Shaun Williams’ pinpoint cross-kick found Shilton van Wyk on the right side of the field, with Duarttee’s conversion making the score 19-7.
Andrew Smith scored the opening try of the second half for the Irish after some failed tackles by the Blitzboks with five minutes remaining in the game.
Moments later, though, Jaiden Baron clinched the deal with his individual brilliance just after entering the game as a substitute.
Baron demonstrated why he is dubbed “The Wind” by kicking the ball through for a try that he started and finished himself, albeit he was a bit fortunate as the assistant referee missed a foot in touch when he was demonstrating clever footwork.
South Africa’s Blitzboks held off Ireland’s final effort to advance to Sunday’s semifinals.
SCORERS: sBlitzboks
Tries: Christie Grobbelaar (2), Shilton van Wyk, Jaiden Baron
Ricardo Duarttee’s conversions (3)
Ireland
Aaron O’Sullivan and Andrew Smith both tried
Billy Dardis’ conversion
»Blitzboks will play Fiji in the Sydney Sevens Cup semi-finals«