Blitzboks fail to make playoffs in Los Angeles

The Springbok Sevens squad will play Canada at Dignity Health Sports Park on Sunday to avoid the wooden spoon at the HSBC SVNS Los Angeles after failing to get out of their pool for a second consecutive tournament.

The Blitzboks finished last in their pool after they suffered defeats to Ireland (17-0 on Friday) and Argentina (17-5). Despite beating Spain 22-19 in their final pool match, they finished fourth on points difference.

They then played Samoa in the ninth-place semi-final and despite leading by 10-0 at the break, the Blitzboks were overhauled by the Pacific Islanders, who scored three second half tries for a 19-10 win.

The Blitzboks started the second day of action in LA with a fiercely competitive match against the high-riding Los Pumas. The South Africans took the lead through Rosko Specman and scores were tied at the break (5-5), but a double whammy confirmed the result, with Argentina scoring twice in two minutes in the last quarter of the match.

Against Spain, Zain Davids scored early before two tries handed their opponents a 12-7 lead at the break. A strong second half yielded three tries for the Blitzboks and although Spain scored a late try, the South Africans could finally taste victory, although they were dropped into the lower part of the draw.

Specman scored from the kick-off against Samoa and when Darren Adonis got his first of the tournament just before the break, things were looking good for the South Africans. However, they could not contain the physicality of the Samoans in the second half though as the team in blue romped away for a win, scoring three unanswered tries.

Their 11th place clash against Canada will kick-off at 21h48. The quarter-finalists are France v Ireland, Spain v Great Britain, Australia v USA, and Fiji v Argentina.

Scorers:

South Africa 5 (5) - Argentina 17 (5)
SA - Try: Rosko Specman.
Argentina - Tries: Joaquin Pellandini, Luciano Gonzalez (2). Conversion: Tobias Wade.

South Africa 22 (5), Spain 19 (12)
SA - Tries: Zain Davids, Selvyn Davids, Rosko Specman, David Brits. Conversion: Selvyn Davids.
Spain - Tries: Josep Serres, Eduardo Lopez, Anton Anso. Conversions: Francisco Cosculluela (2).

South Africa 10 (10), Samoa 19 (0)
SA - Tries: Rosko Specman, Darren Adonis.
Samoa - Tries: Elisapeta Alofipo, Tom Maiava, Uaina Tui Sione. Conversions: Neueli Leitufia, Faafoi Falaniko.

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