France Sevens: SA Lose 21-19 to Australia

A valiant performance against Australia in the fifth-place semi-final of the France Rugby Sevens tournament on Sunday, 14 May, resulted in a disappointing sixth place finish for South Africa.

The Blitzboks narrowly lost 21-19 to their Australian counterparts at Stade Ernest-Wallon in Toulouse, France – Mfundo Ndhlovu, Shaun Williams, Ronald Brown, James Murphy and Justin Geduld all contributed tries and conversions, but it wasn’t enough for them to win the match.

Maurice Longbottom proved himself to be the ace up Australia’s sleeve as he contributed the majority of the tries and conversions that led to their victory.

As a result, Australia occupy fifth place on the World Series rankings with 125 points, while the Blitzboks trail behind in seventh place with 116 points.

“There was frustration, especially in the first game on the opening day when we did not play well at all, but day two started well before we disappointed ourselves against Argentina,” said coach Sandile Ngcobo in a post-match interview. “Against Australia, the bounce of the ball and a call or two did not favour us either, and that made the difference.”

Despite the loss, Ngcobo says that the “season is not over for us” when the Blitzboks partake in the London Sevens, starting on 20 May.

“There is still an opportunity to improve, and we are keen to grab it,” he declared.

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