At the Stade de France
Paris, France – It was a case of deja vu for South African rugby here at the Olympic Games in Paris 2024 when the Blitzboks produced a resilient defensive display against New Zealand in the quarterfinals of the Olympic Games.
Even though the Paris 2024 Games officially kicks-off with the opening ceremony along the Seine River next to the iconic Eiffel Tower on Friday evening, the Blitzboks Sevens campaign started dismally on Wednesday.
Coach Philip Snyman’s charges lost in the first two pool games against their biggest rivals in the 15-man code, the almighty All Blacks and the highy-ranked Ireland.
However, after their initial two losses the Blitzboks had to beat Japan in their last Pool A game by at least 21 points to qualify for the last eight of the competition. This they managed with precision and aplomb by thrashing the Brave Blossoms by a whopping 49-5
But it was their heroic performance in the 14-7 quarter-final win over New Zealand on Thursday night, which raised the eyebrows especially after their traditional arch enemies had beaten them 17-5 the night before, in a rematch that had a lot more riding on it.
The Blitzboks tackled like their lives depended on it and put in the performance of the tournament so far to stun their Southern Hemisphere rivals.
South Africa took a 14-7 lead into half-time, but the second half was all New Zealand, who launched wave after wave of attack at the Blitzboks line.
But the men in green, in the way we have seen their Springbok counterparts step up so often in recent years, just wouldn’t give in.
Rosko Specman in action for the Blizboks against the All Blacks at the Stade de France Photo: SA Rugby
It was a defensive effort for the ages, and now the Blitzboks are within touching distance of a podium place and they will now play France in the semi-finals at 15:30 on Saturday.
If this fight is a sign of what is to come for Team SA in France, then there is a lot to be excited about.
Scorers:
South Africa 14 (14)
Tries: Selvyn Davids, Tristan Leyds
Conversion: Leyds (2)
New Zealand 7 (7)
Try: Leo Moses
Conversion: Moses
