NZ down Blitzboks at Olympic Games
South Africa lost its second match at the Olympic Games, going down 17-5 to New Zealand in the men’s rugby sevens competition in Paris on Wednesday.
New Zealand beat South Africa 17-5 in their Sevens match at the Olympic Games in Paris on 24 July 2024. Picture: @SVNSSeries/X
JOHANNESBURG - South Africa lost its second match at the Olympic Games, going down 17-5 to New Zealand in the men’s rugby sevens competition in Paris on Wednesday.
Earlier in the day, Ireland outplayed the Blitzboks.
The Kiwis were first on the scoreboard after nearly two minutes of play, scoring from a brilliant passage of play that started inside their 22. The Blitzboks' Selvyn Davids responded with an unconverted try to the game at 5-5.
But the Kiwis regained the lead with some slick passing through the hands to go into the break with a 10-5 lead.
The second half saw the Kiwis pile on the pressure on the Blitzboks and that coupled with some handling errors and a few marginal refereeing decisions saw the New Zealanders pick up another try with just under two minutes left and extend their lead to 17-5.
The Blitzboks face Japan next in Pool A in a fight for third place by beating Japan and playing Argentina or Australia for a spot in the semi-finals. There is also the possibility of South Africa facing Ireland or New Zealand again in the quarterfinals.
WEDNESDAY’S MEN’S RUGBY SEVENS RESULTS
Pool A
Ireland 10 Team SA 5
Ireland 40 Japan 5
New Zealand 40 Japan 12
New Zealand 17 Team SA 5
Pool B
Australia 21 Samoa 14
Australia 21 Kenya 7
Argentina 31 Kenya 12
Argentina 28 Samoa 12
Pool C
Fiji 40 Uruguay 12
Fiji 38 USA 12
France 12 USA 12
France 19 Uruguay 12