Rampant Blitzboks charge into semis

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Justin Geduld scored a brace of tries as the Blitzboks beat Scotland 22-0 in the Cup quarter-finals of the Hamilton Sevens on Sunday. MARIETTE ADAMS reports.

South Africa were undefeated on day one after cruising to wins over Papua New Guinea, Russia and England. And early on day two, they swept Scotland away in the quarters to book a spot in the Cup semi-finals, where they will take on Australia.

The Blitzboks’ backline players were on full display, ripping through Scotland’s defence to score all four tries.

South Africa, however, didn’t have it all their own way in the early stages of the game. They had to absorb a lot of pressure from Scotland, who held on well in the opening minutes, before seizing control.

But the Blitzboks’ game was perfectly summarised by commentator Rob Vickerman, who said: ‘One thing’s for sure, as good as their attack is, everything that South Africa do comes from their ability in defence.’

Pinned their own half, Kwagga Smith broke the line and stormed upfield. He was hauled in, but the ball was sent wide and Geduld darted over to give his team the lead after playing a nice one-two pass with Seabelo Senatla.

Two minutes later, Geduld scored again. Only this time, he did so without support. The Blitzboks’ playmaker slipped three tacklers and handed off a fourth to score a brilliant individual effort on the stroke of half-time.

There was to be no second-half comeback by Scotland, who struggled to retain possession for a sustained passage of play. The Scots battled to breach the Blitzboks’ ferocious defensive line.

Inevitably, Senatla added his name to the scoresheet after some strong work in the build-up by Smith and Cecil Afrika.

But the Blitzboks weren’t done yet. With the game well into injury time and the result wrapped up, the South Africans kept the ball alive, allowing Afrika to strike the final blow by scoring another try.

Cup Semi-finals:

New Zealand vs Fiji (05:49)
South Africa vs Australia (06:11)

Photo: @BlitzboksTwitter

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Mariette Adams