Blitzboks crushed by New Zealand in Sydney Sevens final

After a fantastic tournament up until the final hurdle, the Blitzboks put in an abject performance to be blown away 38-0 by New Zealand in the final of the Sydney Sevens on Sunday.

The Blitzboks had been in top form throughout, cruising unbeaten through the pool stage, before brushing off Ireland in the quarterfinals and then thumping Fiji 31-12 in the semifinal to head into the final with plenty of momentum.

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But they had no answer to an explosive New Zealand who ran in three tries in each half, while keeping the Blitzboks scoreless in a match for the first time in nine years.

It was a dominant set piece from New Zealand that had a huge impact on the match as they managed to score four of their tries from scrums in the game.

In the first half all three tries were off the back of scrums, the first in midfield which saw Roderick Solo receiving the ball on the switch, beating one Blitzbok defender, before stepping last man Ricardo Duarttee and sprinting away to score under the posts, with Akuila Rokolisoa adding the extras for a 7-0.

The second and third tries were then from New Zealand scrums in the Blitzboks 22m, with a charging Joe Webber crashing over, followed by Sam Dickson going over in the corner, giving them a comfortable 17-0 lead at the break.

Score first

The Blitzboks then needed to score first in the second half, and although they initially started well and worked their way into the New Zealand 22m, they were soon blown away.

Their struggles at the set piece continued as from their own scrum on their own 22m, New Zealand overpowered them, winning the ball, with Rokolisoa picking up and going over to move his side 24-0 up.

Two late converted tries from Amanaki Nicole and Ngarohi MGarvey-Black then completed the rout and sent the Blitzboks home with their tails between their legs.

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