Sweet day for Powell’s Blitzboks

THE Blitzboks' 26-5 victory over Fiji in the final of the Wellington leg of the World Sevens Series gave them a number of reasons to celebrate.

Firstly, they lifted the Cup (never mind the fact that they had to fight their way through tough competition to do so) – and that in itself is enough reason to pop the champagne.

Secondly, it was the South African Sevens side’s first win in Wellington since 2002 (back when coach Neil Powell was a player).

And thirdly, they have now bagged two titles in three tournaments – one in Dubai and now Wellington – and this should provide an even bigger spark to their already-firing campaign.

But there were also a few other Blitzbok feats that made the win even sweeter.

The South Africans now enjoy a 12-point lead on the overall log, a 24th tournament win and go-to man Seabelo Senatla has overtaken Fabian Juries as the all-time leading try-scorer in SA Sevens history, while Branco du Preez (951) surpassed Juries (925) in career points and is now only behind injured teammate Cecil Afrika (1 167).

And it doesn’t end there.

The Blitzboks’ six wins in Wellington resulted in their 27th win out of their 30 matches in the Series (the most by any team), while their 45-0 win over France in the quarter-finals was the biggest winning margin in a quarter-final match in the Series so far.

On day one, the Blitzboks also swept aside Japan, Australia and Fiji, and went into the knockout stages against France, and Canada, who they beat 21-5, before progressing to the final, where they beat Fiji for the second time on the weekend.

But the South Africans were made to work hard at times for those impressive stats.

They fought hard to subdue a gutsy Canadian side, while the first period of the final against Fiji was also no easy task.

It was a tense start for the South Africans and Fiji managed to get the first score on the board when speedster Joeli Lutumailagi beat Senatla, who was unsurprisingly named Player of the Final, on the outside to score the opening try after Powell’s men struggled with their attack and were guilty of a few errors.

Senatla got the Blitzboks in the game when he answered with a try of his own, his record-breaking 180th one to be exact.

The second half was also a tense affair, but two quick switch passes between Justin Geduld and Rosko Specman set up the latter for another five-pointer, after he straightened to flat-foot the Fijian defence and stretch the Blitzboks’ lead.

Ruhan Nel proved to be a potent impact player as he made full use of his opportunity as soon as he came on, cutting through defenders and stretching over to score.

Nel went over again a little later and sealed the deal for the South Africans.

The Blitzboks’ performances in Wellington were built on rock-solid defence, which saw them concede only four tries on the weekend – three of which were against Fiji – and their attacking game and execution were also impressive.

After the victory, Powell lauded his team’s determination and efforts.

“I will remember the win, but also because of the tremendous character showed by the team,” Powell said.

“The guys were tested out there today, especially the match against Canada (which) was a physical one. The guys are trusting the system and the system is looking after them and as long as that happens, we should do well.”

Senatla, who will play in his last Sevens tournament in Sydney this weekend before joining the Stormers for the Super Rugby season, insisted that the Blitzboks’ impressive results could be put down to commitment because, according to him, they are “average” players.

“I am going to miss Sevens for a while, but I will be coming back next season. It is an incredible vibe and atmosphere, it’s something beautiful to be a part of,” Senatla smiled.

“We aren’t that good.

“We’re pretty average actually. I think it’s the bond that we share that makes us special, the players play for each other. We’re not that good, we just have experience in putting our bodies on the line for each other.”

Pools for Sydney leg

Pool A: South Africa, England, Japan, Kenya

Pool B: Fiji, France, Wales, Samoa

Pool C: Scotland, New Zealand, Australia, Papua New Guinea

Pool D: Canada, Argentina, USA, Russia