Blitzboks cruise past Malaysia in Commonwealth opener

The Blitzboks never got out of second gear as they easily cruised past Malaysia, running in eight tries for a 46-0 win in their opening game of the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham on Friday afternoon.

Flyer Angelo Davids ran in a hattrick, while four tries in each half was enough to brush aside a valiant challenge from a team not on the Sevens World Series circuit.

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The match started with the Blitzboks on the front foot, leading to Davids powering through a tackle attempt and going over in the right hand corner for the opening try.

Malaysia then enjoyed a brief spell with the ball, but after getting a penalty on the Blitzboks 22m, they bizzarely opted for a scrum which backfired as the Blitzboks won the ball back and counter attacked, with Muller du Plessis outstripping the defence to score.

The conversion from Ronald Brown gave the Blitzboks a 12-0 lead with a few minutes to go in the half, which then became 22-0 at the break as Davids scored his second and Selwyn Davids also went over, both tries in the left hand corner to give the Blitzboks a comfortable lead.

The second half then saw a raft of changes from the Blitzboks, which led to captain Siviwe Soyizwapi earning a penalty at the breakdown, quick tapping and going over to extend the lead to 29-0.

Dewald Human, also on at the break, then capitalised on a kick chase to score in the right hand corner, before Davids rounded out his hattrick with a try in the left hand corner as they moved into a 39-0 lead.

Zain Davids then added the cherry to the cake by powering through a tired Malaysian defence on the fulltime hooter to seal an easy win.

The Blitzboks face Tonga later Friday and Scotland in their final pool game on Saturday.