Cape Town - It all came down to one conversion as the Blitzboks fell short of defending their Cape Town Sevens title in dramatic fashion, going down 19-17 to England in the final on Sunday.
Werner Kok scored a try just before the hooter sounded at Cape Town Stadium, but the five-pointer was in the left-hand corner. That meant the left-footed Justin Geduld had to slot the conversion to take the decider into extra time, but his effort went wide.
It was a disappointing end to a fine tournament from the Springbok Sevens side, who gradually improved over the two days.
The injury-enforced absences of World Sevens Player of the Year, Seabelo Senatla, and Kyle Brown for the final was a huge blow to the Blitzboks’ chances of defending the trophy they won last year.
Senatla was the mainstay of the team on attack, and Brown on defence, and the Blitzboks lacked an edge in both departments in the final.
Whereas they kept their shape and composure in the quarter- and semi-finals, the Blitzboks tried to force passes and weren’t effective at the breakdowns.
Senatla said: “I don’t think it feels entirely bad. They guys played well the whole tournament and they put their bodies on the line.
“We always say that we can’t fault our fate, so if it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be. It’s a game of rugby, it’s a game of Sevens.
“We are disappointed, but I have a lot of joy in my heart. I think the guys were really gutsy out there and there was a lot of effort. And that’s all you can assess: effort”
Kok and Rosko Specman had to take greater responsibility, and while they were both outstanding, they had too much to do to get past the English.
The hard-working Chris Dry, though, was the man to open the scoring when he ran a wonderful line following a burst by Kwagga Smith.
Dry showed a surprising turn of speed to outpace the English cover defence, but it didn’t take long for Richard de Carpentier to dot down, and Tom Mitchell slotted the conversion to put the visitors into a 7-5 lead.
England’s quick-passing game stretched the Blitzbok defence, and speedster Dan Norton added a second try before half-time to ramp up the pressure on the South Africans. Neil Powell’s team also lost playmaker Branco du Preez to injury before the break, but were brought back into the game in the second half when Specman produced another amazing piece of skill. The man from Grahamstown saw space behind the England defence and kicked ahead, winning the race to level the scores at 12-12.
That was a tactic the South Africans should have used more often, but it was the English who kept their cool with ball in hand to outwork the Blitzboks and put Ruaridh McConnachie over on the left.
It was a difficult conversion for the left-footed Mitchell, but he banged it over and those two points were the difference at the final whistle.
POINTS-SCORERS
South Africa - Tries: Chris Dry, Rosko Specman, Werner Kok. Conversions: Cecil Afrika (1).
England - Tries: Richard de Carpentier, Dan Norton, Ruaridh McConnachie. Conversions: Tom Mitchell (2).