Blitzboks show fighting spirit to draw with France in Vancouver opener

After a disappointing tournament last weekend at the Los Angeles Sevens, the Blitzboks were forced to dig deep in their opening encounter of the Vancouver Sevens against France.

That they did as they fought back from 19-0 down at half-time to claim a 19-all draw in their Pool B encounter against a side that's beaten them twice already this season.

In a cagey opening half, both teams had periods of possession, but strong defence, as well as unnecessary mistakes saw no score until France's Theo Forner crossed for a converted try in the fifth minute for a 7-0 lead.

That lead was extended to 12-0 after France took advantage of a poor kick-off reception from the Blitzboks that allowed Leraitre Paul to score an unconverted try.

Things went from bad to worse for South Africa as Forner scored his second of the match to give France a 19-0 lead at half-time.

With it all to do in the second half, South Africa needed to score first, and a period of possession saw Ricardo Duarttee cross for an unconverted try in the third minute to make the score 21-5.

A second South African try followed through skipper Siviwe Soyizwapi which Duarttee converted as the Blitzboks cut the French lead to 21-12 with just over two minutes remaining.

Soyizwapi then scored in the right-hand corner well after the final hooter, and Duarttee landed an incredible conversion from a difficult angle to ensure South Africa came away with a 19-all draw.

South Africa now plays Japan in their second Pool B clash at 04:38 (SA time) on Saturday morning.