Blitzboks finish third in Cape Town

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Dewald Human scored a late match-winning try as the Blitzboks claimed a 10-5 victory over New Zealand in Sunday’s third-place playoff in Cape Town. CRAIG LEWIS reports.

Earlier in the day, the Springbok Sevens had suffered a heart-breaking defeat to Fiji in the Cup quarter-finals, and it meant the crowd had thinned out by the time the bronze medal match rolled around at the Cape Town Stadium.

However, there would be cause for celebration as the hosts produced a much-improved defensive display to claim an important win in the second tournament of the season.

The Blitzboks came into this clash with just 10 fit squad members after Zain Davids became the third player to be ruled out with injury over the weekend.

It would also be the second time that they had met New Zealand in the Cape Town Sevens after suffering an agonising defeat on day one, but this time they would not be denied.

Although the hosts would concede the first score to Sione Molia, they did well to finish the first half in the ascendancy, with Werner Kok going over for a superb try to draw the scores level at the break.

In a gruelling second half that saw momentum swing one way and then the next, Human scored a crucial try with just over a minute remaining, before the Blitzboks held out for victory.

REPORT: Fiji clinch Cape Town title

Match Centre

Photo: @Blitzboks/Twitter

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Craig Lewis