Blitzbokke down, but are not yet out

THE Blitzbokke failed in their objective to reach the final in Las Vegas – the fifth stop of the 2017-18 HSBC World Sevens Series – but still managed to extend their lead at the top of the overall standings at the halfway point in the season.

SA coach Neil Powell said prior to the Las Vegas and Vancouver tournaments that two finals would be an acceptable return considering his team was missing six frontline players.

By scrapping their way through Pool B against Wales‚ Canada and England and beating Australia in the quarterfinals in Las Vegas‚ the Blitzbokke were on track to meet Powell’s objective.

But losing 12-10 to Argentina in the Cup semis meant a bronze medal match against Fiji for the Blitzbokke. They lost 26-22 to Fiji to finish fourth and claim 15 log points.

That moved SA to 92 on the standings and extended their lead to 10 points over New Zealand‚ who could only end fifth in Las Vegas.

Fiji collected 17 log points and are on 79, while Australia remain in fourth overall on 72 points.

The USA beat Argentina 28-0 in the final after ousting Fiji 19-7 in the semis to become the fifth different winner in five tournaments this season.

The USA’s upset win over Fiji at least allowed SA to move further ahead in the title race.

The top five teams in the standings are:

1. South Africa 92

2. New Zealand 82

3. Fiji 79

4. Australia 72

5. Argentina 67 —