The Blitzboks scored 20 tries in three matches on day one of the Canada Sevens and only conceded three as they delivered a strong performance in the opening tournament of the 2021 World Rugby Sevens Series.
The South Africans beat Mexico 53-0 in their opening match at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, scoring nine tries in the win and then added six more as they outplayed Spain 34-7. In their final match in Pool A, they stormed in a 34-14 win against Kenya to top the pool.
Following their Pool A clean sweep, the Springbok Sevens team will take on Spain in a Cup quarter-final at 7.25pm (SA time) on Sunday.
South Africa opened their campaign against Mexico, who accepted a late invite to the tournament and their lack of preparation showed from the start. Ronald Brown scored in the first minute to hand the Blitzboks debutant the dream start to his World Series career.
Eight more tries followed, with four of those coming from Angelo Davids.
Debutants Christie Grobbelaar, Darren Adonis and Shaun Williams each scored in their first match for the Blitzboks, while Siviwe Soyizwapi scored his 94th try in the series. Dewald Human kicked four conversions.
The match against Spain delivered six tries, with a number of series veterans getting on the scoresheet. Ryan Oosthuizen, Muller du Plessis and Sako Makata all added to their career tallies, but it was Grobbelaar, Brown and Adonis who again showed determination to cross the tryline.
The pool decider against Kenya saw five tries scored by the Blitzboks, with four of those in a commanding first-half performance. Du Plessis stepped his way past a number of defenders in the opening act of the half and three more tries followed in quick succession, racing the South Africans away to a 28-0 halftime lead.
To Kenya’s credit, they came back with two tries, before a JC Pretorius effort settled the result.
Photo: @Blitzboks/Twitter
