Blitzboks beat Ireland to finish 5th at London Sevens

It was not the result they wanted from the weekend, but the Blitzboks beat Ireland 14-12 in their final match of the London Sevens on Sunday to finish the tournament in fifth place. 

It is an improvement on their efforts in France a week ago, where South Africa bombed out of the group stages, but the standards of this team remain high, and failing to make a semi-final will always be considered a failure. 

The match that hurt the Blitzboks came earlier on Sunday when they lost 21-17 to Australia in their quarter-final, but victories over Spain and then Ireland at least means they can leave with their heads held high. 

A scrappy first half saw Ireland and the Blitzboks threaten to score, but mistakes when it mattered most both sides down, leaving the score at 0-0 going into half-time in what looked to be a stalemate. 

Ireland started the second half strongest, but it was the Blitzboks who broke the deadlock when Impi Visser went over on 10 minutes. Ronald Brown landed the conversion, and South Africa had a 7-0 lead. 

The Blitzboks continued to be stretched defensively, though, and Ireland hit back on 12 minutes through Harry McNulty. 

Fortunately for the Blitzboks, the conversion went wide, and coach Neil Powell's men had a 7-5 lead heading into the final 90 seconds. 

The killer blow for the Blitzboks came on the stroke of full-time when Mfundo Ndhlovu went over to secure the win.