The Blitzboks rounded off Saturday's Day 1 at the Hamilton Sevens in superb fashion when they ran England ragged for a 28-7 win in their final Pool B match in New Zealand.
The South Africans led 21-0 at the break after Seabelo Senatla bagged a hat-trick of tries and Justin Gedult banged over all the conversions, which included two from the touchline.
The eventual 28-7 sent out a strong statement to their more fancied teams because the Blitzboks have been hit hard by injuries to at least three first-choice players but the replacements who have barely had time to shake off jet lag have stepped up to the plate.
A key element of their victory over England was their breakdown supremacy which led to countless turnovers. As a result, England were allowed into the game and were forced to settle for mostly defensive roles.
Earlier on Saturday, the Blitzboks conceded one try in their two opening pool matches. Papua New Guinea initially offered stubborn resistance but went down 36-5 and then Russia suffered a whitewash 38-0 defeat. – African News Agency (ANA)
