The Blitzboks lost against England in their final pool match but still qualified for the quarterfinals of the Singapore leg of the HSBC World Series on Saturday.
The Blitzboks went down 17-12 to the side that has caused them trouble all season‚ despite the fact that SA had made seven consecutive finals before this weekend.
Earlier wins over Japan (52-0) and France (10-7) were enough to ensure the Blitzboks made the last eight before they came up against England in their final pool game.
SA have only lost five matches out of 45 during the season‚ but four of those have occurred against the English.
The Blitzboks will now take on Australia in the quarterfinals on Sunday. The winner of their match will play against the winner of Fiji and the USA in the semifinals.
Going into the tournament the Blitzboks held a 23-point lead over Fiji at the top of the standings. They’ll be hoping the USA assist their surge for the overall title by beating the islanders and they do the business against the Aussies.
New Zealand versus Canada and England against 2016 Singapore winners Kenya completes the quarterfinal lineup on Sunday.
“The Australians are playing pretty well at the moment‚” captain Philip Snyman said. “We need to be at our best‚ trust our system and eliminate the silly mistakes we are making at times.
“You need to be able to beat any team in the quarterfinal if you want to win the title‚ but that only takes you to the semis‚ where more hard work awaits."
- TMG Digital/TMG Sport
Blitzboks lose to England but make Singapore quarters
The Blitzboks lost against England in their final pool match but still qualified for the quarterfinals of the Singapore leg of the HSBC World Series on Saturday.
The Blitzboks went down 17-12 to the side that has caused them trouble all season‚ despite the fact that SA had made seven consecutive finals before this weekend.
Earlier wins over Japan (52-0) and France (10-7) were enough to ensure the Blitzboks made the last eight before they came up against England in their final pool game.
SA have only lost five matches out of 45 during the season‚ but four of those have occurred against the English.
The Blitzboks will now take on Australia in the quarterfinals on Sunday. The winner of their match will play against the winner of Fiji and the USA in the semifinals.
Going into the tournament the Blitzboks held a 23-point lead over Fiji at the top of the standings. They’ll be hoping the USA assist their surge for the overall title by beating the islanders and they do the business against the Aussies.
New Zealand versus Canada and England against 2016 Singapore winners Kenya completes the quarterfinal lineup on Sunday.
“The Australians are playing pretty well at the moment‚” captain Philip Snyman said. “We need to be at our best‚ trust our system and eliminate the silly mistakes we are making at times.
“You need to be able to beat any team in the quarterfinal if you want to win the title‚ but that only takes you to the semis‚ where more hard work awaits."
- TMG Digital/TMG Sport
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