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.
It was not to be.
They did not rise to the occasion even though they were playing in Stade de France – the stadium where the Springboks won the World Cup last year – in front of probably the biggest crowd ever seen at a sevens match.
Sadly, 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.
The Blitzboks will have to win by about 40 points to advance to the finals when they play Japan this afternoon.
Both Ireland and the All Blacks scored 40 points against Japan, leaving them the biggest losers in the tournament. So South Africa can do it, but the way they’ve been playing makes it unlikely.
Can coach Phillip Snyman and the Blitzboks perform a miracle? We find out tonight.
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.
Pictured above: The Blitzboks in action in Paris.
Source: Blitzboks/X
