REMATCH: Blitzboks bash Japan to book quarter-final against All Blacks
The Blitzboks powered past Japan to book their place in the quarter-finals of the Olympic sevens tournament in Paris.
The Blitzboks are into the quarter-finals of the Olympics sevens event after clinching a commanding 49-5 win in their final pool game against Japan on Thursday.
The Blitzboks advanced to the play-offs as the 8th-ranked side (the best third-place finisher) and will thus have a rematch against New Zealand, who emerged as Pool A winners after edging Ireland 14-12.
The Blitzboks played with a sense of urgency that was sorely lacking in their first two encounters. They put on a clinical attacking masterclass while superbly holding their shape in defence throughout the game.
South Africa ran in five unanswered tries in a remarkable first half for a 35-0 lead at the break. They added two more tries and conceded one in the second half to wrap up the result.
The Springbok Sevens team’s quarter-final will kick off at 22:30 on Thursday night.
BLITZBOKS’ POOL SCHEDULE AT OLYMPICS:
Wednesday 24 July:
17h30: Blitzboks lost 10-5 to Ireland
21h30: Blitzboks lost 17-5 New Zealand
Thursday 25 July
16h00: Blitzboks beat Japan 49-0
(SA times, all matches on SuperSport):
Blitzboks squad for the 2024 Olympic Games — Christie Grobbelaar, Ryan Oosthuizen. Impi Visser*, Zain Davids*, Quewin Nortje, Tiaan Pretorius, Shaun Williams, Selvyn Davids* (captain), Tristan Leyds, Rosko Specman**, Siviwe Soyizwapi*, Shilton van Wyk.
Travelling reserves: Ronald Brown*, Katlego Letebele.
* indicates Tokyo 2021
** indicates Rio 2016
