Due to the nature of this tournament, with the four pool winners progressing straight to the semi-finals, the Blitzboks - who had the worst possible start to the weekend as they were beaten 38-10 by Great Britain in their opening game - dropped out of the title race despite the brilliant win over Los Pumas, tournament winners last weekend in Hong Kong.
Image: File Picture, BackpagePix
The Blitzboks experienced a day of mixed fortunes at the Singapore leg of the HSBC SVNS Series on Saturday, with a tough loss followed by a big win that showed their resilience and potential.
Their campaign started on the back foot with a disappointing 38-10 defeat to Great Britain, a game that was heavily influenced by early discipline issues. A red card in the opening minutes and another yellow later on left South Africa with too much to do, and the Britons took full advantage.
However, the Blitzboks didn’t dwell on that result and responded brilliantly in their second outing. In a spirited display of grit and patience, they pulled off an impressive 26-24 win over Argentina – the current SVNS series leaders and recent winners in Hong Kong.
A last-gasp try by Zander Reynders, his first in national colours, sealed the dramatic win after the final hooter.
Unfortunately, the earlier heavy defeat cost them a spot in the semi-finals. With only the top team from each pool progressing to the final four, South Africa missed out despite their thrilling victory over Los Pumas.
They’ll now turn their focus to the ninth-place play-off game, where they’ll face the USA in the semi-finals at 5.50am (SA time) on Sunday morning.
With momentum from their Argentina win and plenty of pride to play for, the Blitzboks will be aiming to end their Singapore campaign on a positive note.