By Lucky Vince Pienaar
The Blitzboks needed the performance of their lives on Wednesday at the Olympic Games in Paris to have a reasonable chance of making it into the finals section over the weekend.
In the first two matches they did not rise to the occasion even though they were playing in Stade de France in front of 79 000 spectators – the biggest crowd to ever attend sevens rugby.
In truth, their game was no better than what we had seen throughout the year during the HSBC SVNS series.
They got to the Olympic Games by winning the last-chance tournament. Now, they are faced with the slightest chance as one of the losing pool teams, which gets into the finals based on the performance of all the losing teams and will likely come down to a point difference.
On Wednesday, playing against Ireland, they had possession of the ball for a maximum of two minutes. It’s a testament to their defence that they only lost by two tries to one, but you don’t play rugby without the ball.
Against New Zealand, they scored a try after the match was lost, while the All Blacks scored three tries. In the right frame of mind, New Zealand looked like gold medal winners while the Blitzboks were fighting a losing battle.
But on Thursday afternoon, the Blitzboks provided magic. In a match that reminded of the glory days of South African sevens rugby, they obliterated Japan with a seven tries to one victory.
The Blitzboks are still in the fight. Tonight they have their backs against the wall again when they play New Zealand, but they seem to be used to that, don’t they?
Coach Phillip Snyman and the Blitzboks have once again performed a miracle – and they’re still in the match.
Blitzboks vs Japan, Thursday 4pm on DStv channel 205.
Blitzboks (1 try) 5–10 (2 tries) Ireland
Blitzboks (1 try) 5-17 (3 tries) New Zealand.
Blitzboks (7 tries) 49-5 (1 try) Japan
Blitboks vs New Zealand on Thursday at 21:00 on channel 205
Pictured above: The Blitzboks in action in Paris.
Source: Blitzboks/X
