South Africa’s Springbok Sevens team lost to England in the Plate final of the Emirates Airline George Sevens tournament in a game they would rather forget, ending the tournament on a low note.

The Bok Sevens side lost their first ever final of any sort to the English in the World Series history, but had the embarrassment of doing it in front of an extremely disappointed crowd to finish the same way they did at the Dubai Sevens.

Last week the Boks lost to Australia in the Plate final, and in front of a partisan crowd in George they were again out of sorts as England dismantled them relying on turnovers and speed to beat the World Series champs.

After this loss, the Blitsboks will need to find an answer to their own woes, after being exposed for a lack of speed and flair in both the first two tournaments thus far in the series.

There were high expectations, but it was England who were way more clinical, even though they had less possession and made their presence felt when they got the ball.

It started when Dan Norton opened the scoring for England, and then gave the perfect pass to Christian Wade after the English had stolen a South African lineout to extend the flyer’s lead as the top points scorer at this year’s tournament.

The Boks came out much better in the second half, but their ability to lose ball at crucial times in possession cost them once again, as Marius Schoeman was rushed into a pass that fell into no-man’s land and Wade picked up, running 60 metres before giving Isoa Damu the honour of his name on the scoresheet.

Shaun Venter eventually added a consolation try on the stroke of full-time, but even though they finished on a high note, the Boks will leave the tournament thinking about what could have been and no doubt how difficult the task is of defending their IRB World Series title.

* Earlier the Springboks scraped home against Samoa 10-7 in a scrappy Plate semifinal after tries by Deon Helberg and Mzwandile Stick sealed it for them The Boks were out of the Cup competition early in the day’s play as they relinquished their second title in as many weeks when they lost to Fiji in the quarterfinal .

The Blitsbokke went down 22-17 in a game they will feel they should have won, much to the disappointment of the partisan home crowd who turned up in their droves to support the IRB World Series champions.

But on a day where crucial decisions would play a vital difference in the game, the Boks will feel aggrieved at a decision that proved to be the difference between the two sides on the scoreboard.

With Fiji on attack, Emosi Vucago was tackled on the floor, and passed the ball back to Setefano Cakau. The ball hit Cakau’s chest and fell forward, and Vucago picking the ball up in an offside position, playing it on the ground and popping it up for Cakau to run through and score.

Despite the crowd’s baying and protests from their entire Springbok Sevens team, Portugese referee Rohan Hoffman allowed the try.

The defeat was the fourth in a row by Fiji over South Africa, and the Boks will be desperate to break their hoodoo that Fiji have over them at the moment

Scorers
South Africa – Try: Shaun Venter. Conversion: Cecil Afrika

England: Tries: Dan Norton, Christian Wade, Isoa Damu. Conversions: Ben Gollings (3)

Source + Pic: supersport.co.za

Tags: Sevens, Springboks