A final try by Nacani Boginisoko of Fiji saw the Blitzboks lose their final Pool A outing 19-24 at the Singapore National Stadium on Saturday afternoon (31 January).
The pool showdown at the Singapore leg of the HSBC SVNS tournament saw South Africa’s Tristan Leyds open the scoring with a brilliant line-break off the left wing to give his side the early lead in the fourth minute. Ricardo Duarttee successfully slotted the conversion (7-0).
Coach Philip Snyman’s men extended their lead mere minutes later, when Leyds setup a cross kick which was gathered by Donavan Don, who powered his down the right wing to dot down his team’s second five-pointer. Duarttee again added the extras to give the men in green a 14-0 lead.
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But the Fijians refused to back down, as Terio Veilawa responded with a characteristic Fijian try at the stroke of half-time. Veilawa converted his own try (HT: 14-7).
The islanders immediately picked up where they left off in the second stanza, and it was again Veilawa who was a thorn in the South Africans’ side, crossing the whitewash and converting for his side to draw level (14-14).
In true South African fashion, the Blitzboks hit back through Christie Grobbelaar (19-14).
But ill-discipline cost the speedsters from Africa, as both David Brits and Don were shown yellow cards for playing Fijian players in the air. This meant the Blitzboks were forced to play with six men for four minutes of the second half.
Fiji capitalised on the situation, with Jeremaia Matana scoring to give his side a fighting chance (19-19).
The scoreline remained level at the end of the second half, leading to the Golden Point period. And although the South Africans had their opportunities to clinch the win, they failed to execute and Boginisoko eventually broke the Blitzboks’ hearts when he crossed over (FT: 19-24).
Despite the loss, South Africa have cemented their place in the play-offs on the second and final day of the competition, having closed off the round-robin phase in second place on the Pool A log. They will next face France in the Cup semi-final at 08:52 on Sunday 1 February.
Earlier on Saturday, the Blitzboks overcame a spirited Spain 21-14, as well as dominating Great Britain 33-12.
Fiji, who topped the pool thanks to the victory, will face New Zealand in their Cup semi-final at 09:14 on Sunday.
Blitzboks squad for Fijian match: Christie Grobbelaar; Ryan Oosthuizen; Ricardo Duarttee; Sonwabo Sokoyi; Siviwe Soyizwapi; Shilton van Wyk; Donavan Don; Sebastiaan Jobb; David Brits; Tristan Leyds; and Luan Giliomee
