Injury-hit Springbok Sevens stumble in Singapore

It was another day of mixed results and emotions for the Springbok Sevens team in Singapore, where the Blitzboks beat Ireland before losing to Spain for the first time in the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series.

Sunday's results mean the Blitzboks finished outside the top-10 in the HSBC Singapore Sevens, with the 12-5 defeat to Spain in the ninth-place semifinal at the National Stadium robbing them of an opportunity to get more World Series points.

Earlier, the Blitzboks showed some glimpses of the team that are still among those hoping to qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games by beating Ireland 12-5.

The Blitzboks started the day without the services of injured Shaun Williams, Tiaan Pretorius and Ricardo Duarttee, and against Ireland they also lost Donovan Don.

The opening match was a real nail-biter, but two quick-fire tries by Jaiden Baron proved the difference.

Baron, who only joined the squad from South Africa earlier this week as an injury replacement for Zain Davids, found himself in the starting sweeper position but it did not deter the former Boland Kavaliers player. He scored twice in less than a minute and with an Ethan James conversion the Blitzboks were up 12-0 at the break.

The Irish scored first in the second half with Dylan O'Grady dotting down with five minutes left, but the Blitzbok defence held firm to secure a solid win and set up a playoff with Spain.

The Blitzboks started that match with only nine fit players left, but they were off the mark first with Siviwe Soyizwapi dotting down for a well-worked try. James ran a nice loop with Christie Grobbelaar and the captain's hard line opened the Spanish defence.

The 5-0 lead was soon nullified though as Spain scored from a scrum play near the Blitzboks' try line as the teams entered the break level at 5-5.

Spain took the lead in the second half and then held on for a famous first win over South Africa.

On Saturday the Blitzboks were knocked out of the Cup competition with defeats against Australia (19-0) and New Zealand (12-7).

The South Africans, who should slip down the overall standings, won their match against Hong Kong China 31-12, but paid a heavy price in that fixture, which was sandwiched between the two Antipodean clashes, as three players picked up injuries that ruled them out of the match against New Zealand.