Blitzboks clinch Olympic spot after winning repechage tournament

The Blitzboks sealed their place in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games after they clinched a 14-5 win over Great Britain in the final of the World Rugby Sevens Repechage tournament in Monaco on Sunday evening.

The South Africans had to qualify the hard way, after they did not place high enough on the World Sevens rankings last season to automatically qualify, and were then shocked by Kenya in the African Sevens final, which meant they had to triumph in the repechage to reach the Games.

In the end they produced an unblemished tournament, cruising through all their games comfortably, until the final where Great Britain made them work hard to qualify for next month’s Olympics.

Tough season

“It’s been a tough season for us. Things didn’t go the way we wanted them to go. But this is the pinnacle for us. We have been working for this all season and the hard work paid off,” said Blitzboks captain Selvyn Davids.

“We have some pretty special players in our team. We have a lot of potential in our system and the guys have been working hard.

“It is the biggest sporting event in the world. I was one of the lucky guys who played in the previous Olympics. The circumstances weren’t the best because it was Covid, but it is still very special to play in it.”

In the final the Blitzboks got off to a good start as they attacked from kick-off, getting onto Great Britain’s 22m where Davids sent a cross kick out wide for Quewin Nortje to catch and dot down for the opening score, converted by Tristan Leyds in the second minute.

Great Britain however responded well with a good period of play, working their way slowly into the Blitzboks 22m where they attacked from a scrum and dotted down in the corner for an unconverted score.

There was still time for the kick-off and Great Britain kept it in play, which allowed the Blitzboks to break, as Shilton van Wyk streaked away to score under the poles for a 14-5 lead at the break.

The second half was a very tight affair, with both teams making few chances which led to a scoreless half to send the Blitzboks to the Olympics.

Smooth sailing

Earlier in the tournament the Blitzboks progress to the final was smooth sailing, after they powered through the pool stage, beating Mexico 44-0 on Friday night, and Tonga (31-7) and Chile (26-7) on Saturday.

That set them up with a quarterfinal clash against fellow Africans Uganda on Sunday morning, with the Blitzboks cruising past them 26-0.

That was largely thanks to a solid first half that saw Leyds run in a double, converting both, and a Davids dot down for a 19-0 lead at the break, with Shaun Williams scoring and converting one more in the second half to seal the win.

In the afternoon they trounced Canada comfortably 28-0 in the semis, thanks to two converted tries in each half, one each from Davids and Leyds in the first half, while Davids added a second in the second half, along with Rosco Specman to power into the final.