Blitzboks star Seabelo Senatla once again rewrote the record books when he scored his 200th World Sevens Series try in a 31-5 victory over France at the Cape Town Sevens on Saturday.
Having earlier beaten Russia 40-5, the South Africans were met with greater resistance from the French.
The Blitzboks managed to score just a single try in the first half, through Kwagga Smith, which was set up by a thrilling line-break by Ruhan Nel.
The strong wind at the Cape Town Stadium appeared to hamper the home side, with many of their passes going astray.
And they were placed under extra pressure when Stephen Parez scored for France, which took the score to 7-5 at half-time to South Africa.
Coach Neil Powell may have had a stern talk with his team at the break, as the Blitzboks were quick out of the blocks and captain Philip Snyman scored first in the second half.
A yellow card to Frenchman Thibault Mazzoleni, for deliberately knocking the ball down, created the extra space the Blitzboks needed, and Chris Dry powered over.
Senatla followed that up by becoming the fastest player to 200 tries, in 35 tournaments, when he scored the fourth touchdown.
The Blitzboks weren’t done yet, though, as Ruhan Nel produced two huge hand-offs to grab a fifth five-pointer to send his team into the Cup quarterfinals.
Scorers:
South Africa 31 (7) – Tries: Kwagga Smith, Philip Snyman, Chris Dry, Seabelo Senatla, Ruhan Nel. Conversions: Branco du Preez (2), Justin Geduld (1).
France 5 (5) – Try: Stephen Parez. – African News Agency
