By Brenden Nel.
The Springbok Sevens side opened their account at the Hong Kong Sevens with a touworkmanlike 14-7 win over Ireland in their Pool D match on Friday morning.
The Blitzboks scored the crucial try through forward Zane Davids, after a switch move caught Ireland’s defence and gave the Blitzboks the lead a minute before fulltime.
Ireland attacked furiously in the final minutes, causing the game to go on for three minutes over the fulltime allotted period, but could not break down the Blitzboks defence.
Earlier Mfundo Ndhlovu scored the opening try for the Blitzboks before Matthew McDonald replied to level matters up and take the teams into the break.
The Blitzboks will now face New Zealand and Kenya on Saturday in their next pool matches and need at least one win to qualify for the quarterfinals.
New Zealand lead the HSBC World Sevens Series log, while Kenya beat the Blitzboks in Vancouver last time out.
Blitzboks fixtures for Saturday
05.04 vs New Zealand
09.25 vs Kenya.