Russia beat the Springbok Women 24-14 at the Sevens World Cup in San Francisco on Friday.
The result knocks South Africa out of the main tournament and they will now go into the Challenge competition.
The Springbok Women enjoyed the majority of possession early on, but despite punching holes in Russia’s defence, they were unable to convert pressure into points and it cost them in the end.
From turnover possession, Russia captain Alena Mikhaltsova shrugged off a defender to score against the run of play.
Epic score from Alena Mikhaltsova in @russiarugby ‘s first win of the #RWC7s, getting them through to the last eight! pic.twitter.com/1mihXKA2Z4
— Rugby World Cup Sevens (@WorldRugby7s) July 20, 2018
The Springbok Women then conceded a yellow card for not retreating 10m and Russia made full use of their numerical advantage as Daria Shestakova and Daria Lushina scored to give them a healthy 19-point lead at the break.
Once South Africa were restored to their full complement, they started their comeback as converted tries by Zenay Jordaan and Babalwa Latsha reduced the deficit to five.
The Springbok Women applied all the pressure as they recycled possession and went in search of a third score. However, a knock-on followed by a penalty handed possession back to Russia, who ran in a fourth try at the death to seal the victory.
Photo: @Blitzboks/Twitter
