There is life within the Blitzboks still, and Team South Africa will compete on Saturday for a spot in the finals of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
Desperate defence at the death by every single South African player on the field completed a 14-7 victory over New Zealand in the quarter-finals of the rugby sevens tournament at the Stade de France on Thursday night.
The game reminded of the massive defensive effort the Springboks put in just under a year ago against the All Blacks in the very same stadium to clinch the Rugby World Cup title in the French capital.
On Thursday night, it was the turn of the Blitzboks to inflict some pain on the New Zealand Sevens, knocking them out of medal contention.
The win completed a magnificent turnaround for the side after two heart-breaking losses on Wednesday, which they backed up with two brilliant wins on the second day of sevens rugby at the Stade de France.
New Zealand were one of the two sides who beat the Blitzboks on day one, leaving them reeling and on the brink of exiting the medal competition.
But that defensive effort was massive, and every single player gave their all for the jersey. From the onset, they knew how they wanted to play the game and, unlike on day one, they did not allow their opponents to dictate the tempo.
South Africa’s attack was outstanding to bring about a 14-0 lead in the first half.
Tries by captain Selvyn Davids and ace goal-kicker Tristan Leyds rounded off some good attacking moves that the All Blacks had no answer for.
Leyds again had a difficult conversion for his side to go two scores up, and he slotted it from the touchline.
A bit of hot-headedness by forward Ryan Oosthuizen allowed the Kiwis to score on the halftime hooter when he conceded a penalty for an easy entry into his side’s half.
From that lineout, the New Zealanders razzle-dazzled with a backline move to score.
There was parity in the second half as both sides pushed to score, but the 0-0 tally during the final seven minutes showed just how tough things were and how tight the defensive effort was.
Davids, speedster Shilton van Wyk and fellow wing Siviwe Soyizwapi made three crucial efforts on defence to keep the All Blacks out, and with Soyizwapi’s intercept, rookie Tiaan Pretorius could kick the ball over the touchline to win the game.
Blitzboks coach Philip Snyman said afterwards: “To be honest, when the guys made it to the quarter-finals, I said ‘Gents, it’s time to start believing’.
“From the get-go, I didn’t say it out loud, but I truly believe in these guys. And yes, day one wasn’t perfect, but they really came out today.
“Our defence was good, and we couldn’t get ball tonight. The defence system worked really well, and then when we had ball-in-hand, we capitalised and even let one or two tries out there – and it still wasn’t perfect.
“But just the way in which the guys fought for the system, fought for the jersey and fought for the whole of South Africa, I am really proud of them, and they deserve to be in the semi-finals.”
Team SA will have to produce more of these plays in their semi-final on Saturday (3.30pm start) against host nation France to stand a chance of grabbing a medal.
Points-Scorers
South Africa 14 – Tries: Selvyn Davids, Tristan Leyds. Conversions: Leyds (2).
New Zealand 7 – Try: Moses Leo. Conversion: Andrew Knewstubb (1).
Quarter-Final Results
South Africa 14-7 New Zealand, France 26-14 Argentina, Fiji 19-15 Ireland, Australia 18-0 United States
Semi-Final Fixtures
Saturday, July 27, 3.30pm: South Africa v France, 4pm: Fiji v Australia
Bronze-Medal Match: Saturday, July 27, 7pm
Gold-Medal Match: Saturday, July 27, 7.45pm