Blitzboks fall to old rivals Fiji, dumped out of Hong Kong Sevens

The Blitzboks have been eliminated from the Hong Kong Sevens, going down 12-7 to Fiji in their Cup quarter-final. 

Skipper Soviwe Soyizwapi scored his side's only try of the game  but the Blitzboks had conceded two first-half tries to go into the half-time break 12-0 down. 

They will now take on Argentina in the fifth place semi-final. That match is at 08:55 (SA time). 

The first six minutes of the match were tight, with good defence from both teams holding sway.

The Fijians had a slight upper hand on the floor, turning over South African possession three times, but with scant reward. Their first try, scored by Joseva Talacolo was a gift from the Blitzboks, who threw an errand pass when on attack.

Fiji kicked ahead and Talacolo scored. From the restart, Fiji regained possession and started another attack which saw Jeremaia Matana dotting down under the poles, with Iowane Teba converting for a 12-0 lead at the break.

The second half saw a change in momentum as the Blitzboks took the game to Fiji. They had a number of strong runs, one such handed Soyizwapi a try.

This score cut the lead to five with three minutes to play.

South Africa pressed hard and in the final play of the game looked dangerous on attack, but was pinged at the breakdown and Fiji survived to score a 7th straight win over their opponents at this venue.

On Saturday, the Blitzboks had lost to both Great Britain and France in their pool matches and were incredibly fortunate to progress through to the quarter-finals on points difference.