Title decider looms as Blitzboks prepare for Argentina clash

The Springbok Sevens and their Fijian counterparts have it all to play for on day two of the HSBC SVNS New York on Sunday, with the team finishing on top set to be crowned the HSBC SVNS Series winner.

The Blitzboks finished second in Pool A on Saturday, securing victories over New Zealand (22-7) and France (12-5) before going down 19-12 to Australia.

Fiji, currently tied with the South Africans at the top of the log, lost their opener against Argentina (31-12) but responded with wins over Great Britain (24-19) and Spain (43-12) to finish second in their pool.

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The Blitzboks will play Argentina at 18:50 (SA time) in the second semi-final, while Fiji and Australia are set to clash at 18:28 on Sunday.

Against New Zealand, the Blitzboks maintained control of possession and held sway at the breakdown, which helped them dictate the match. They kept out the Kiwis, who struggled to break through the South African defence, and counter-punched whenever the opportunity arose.

Selvyn Davids scored the opening try, and Sebastiaan Jobb scored a double on either side of the break. However, the most notable five-pointer belonged to Grant de Jager, who dotted down for his first HSBC SVNS try in the second half. New Zealand scored late, but it had no impact on the result.

The match against France was tight, with narrow margins throughout. France scored first, but Tristan Leyds dotted down after showing some silky skills, with Ronald Brown scoring and converting the match-winner in the second half.

Unfortunately, injuries to Leyds and Dewald Human prevented them from taking the field against Australia in the final pool match, which impacted the rhythm of the Blitzboks' attack.

Selvyn Davids scored his 100th try of the series to put the Blitzboks ahead, but two tries by the Australians gave them the lead at the break. Davids later scored his 101st try in his HSBC SVNS career, but a late try by Australia secured the win for the opposition.