The Blitzboks got their Cape Town Sevens campaign off to an excellent start with a comfortable 49-0 victory over Japan on Friday. DYLAN JACK reports.

The win saw the Blitzboks go top of their group, above Fiji who earlier beat the USA 28-14 in what could be a crucial result for the pool.

It was the perfect start for Neil Powell’s side, who were typically excellent in defence and allowed Japan to do all the play and make all the mistakes.

It took under a minute for the Blitzboks to open the scoring as they applied good pressure before local favourite Seabelo Senatla pounced on an error for the first try.

The South Africans then lost Rosko Specman to a yellow card for a cynical infringement. However, it mattered little as a counter-attack started by Senatla was finished off by Kurt-Lee Arendse.

The youngster then intercepted a Japanese pass and scampered away for his second to put the Blitzboks 21-0 up at half-time.

JC Pretorius went over early in the second half for the South African’s fourth try, before Senatla intercepted for his brace to all but seal the result.

Further tries from Selvyn Davids and Ruhan Nel add more gloss to the scoreline.

The Blitzboks will face tougher tests on day two as they take on Fiji before closing the day against the USA.

Photo: @Blitzboks/Twitter