By Brenden Nel.
A superb defensive performance powered the Springbok Sevens to an impressive 17-7 win over Fiji in their second game at the HSBC Cape Town Sevens on Saturday.
Again the team went behind after an early try against them, but recovered enough and put in a superb performance in the second half in particular to drive them home in front of a big home crowd.
Coach Sandile Ngcobo asked for a better defensive performance after day one of the tournament and his troops obliged in no uncertain terms to smother the Fijians and stop their chances of scoring.
After a frenetic opening bout of play, a lost ball fell perfectly for Fiji’s Joseva Talacolo as he ran through to open the scoring much to the disappointment of the home fans.
But it was then the Blitzboks who upped the ante and took control of the game, forcing phase after phase as they sent the Fijians across the field.
Eventually try-machine Shilton van Wyk got the ball, grubbered ahead – as he had against Canada the night before – and used his speed to outstrip the defence and score the opening try for the home side.
He was followed onto the scoreboard a minute later by Muller du Plessis, who is playing his last tournament before moving to the Sharks.
As Fiji tried in the second half, the Blitzboks just took more and more confidence with every tackle and it wasn’t long before they were winning not only the physical battles but also forcing the Fijians into mistakes.
Eventually a turnover led to powerhouse score by JC Pretorius, whose leg drive powered him through two defenders and over the line.
The Blitzboks will now face their final pool opposition at 5pm when they play France, with a quarterfinal match later in the evening to end day two of the tournament.