By Lucky Maree
Four teams remain in the semi-finals of the HSBC Sevens tournament in Cape Town.
In the first match, New Zealand scored early against the United States and it looks as if the All Blacks may just continue the dominant form they have maintained throughout the tournament.
But the USA responds almost immediately and the game is far from over. With two minutes to go the USA were still in the game, but then the All Blacks dominated, winning the match by 33-17.
In truth, the All Blacks are looking scary good. Can the Blitzboks beat them in the final?
Maybe. But there is still one outstanding detail to be finalised. First the Blitzboks have to beat Samoa in the other semi-final and that is no foregone conclusion.
From the kick-off it is clear that this is going to be an epic battle as both teams play a tight game, the perfect game, with neither side prepared to break away.
After three minutes Samoa opened the scoring, taking full advantage of a yellow card awarded against Ricardo Duarttee.
They scored through a converted try from Vaovasa Afa Sua and from then on Samoa locked down the match.
For a long eight minutes it looks as if the match would be decided on one score only, but then, with just two minutes to go, Ryan Oosthuizen crosses the line and the scores are even.
Can the Blitzboks take their momentum into one more score?
At full time the scores are still all square and the match goes into extra time. Golden point wins the match.
From the kick-off South Africa conceded a penalty when Shilton van Wyk played the ball in an offside position. In a normal match Samoa would certainly take a tap and go – but this is no ordinary match. Samoa’s Faafoi Falaniko takes the penalty kick.
Samoa go through to the final with a three-point win and they will face New Zealand in the final. South Africa’s golden revival comes to an end as they go into the bronze medal final against the USA.
This is no time for tears. The Blitzboks have played a brilliant tournament. Will they carry on playing like this in the rest of the HSBC Sevens series? We find out when the tour moves to Hamilton New Zealand on 21 January.
South Africa:
Tries: Ryan Oosthuizen
Conversions: One
Samoa:
Tries: Vaovasa Afa Sua
Conversions: One
Pictured above: Samoa celebrate their great victory
Image source: SARugbyMag
