Blitzboks Dubai Day two
The Springbok Sevens grip on the Emirates Dubai 7s Trophy was finally broken at The SEVENS on Sunday when they were defeated 24-17 by New Zealand in the Cup quarterfinals.
South Africa will now play France at 15h06 (SA time) in the 5th place playoff match.
The Cup quarter was a classic though with both teams in a position to win it with their last play, but where the Blitzboks spilled their potential scoring pass, the Kiwis grabbed theirs.
With the Blitzboks (trailing 17-19) on the attack, a loose pass by Shilton van Wyk found a New Zealand defender and they turned that into a try, their first win over South Africa at this venue in almost a decade.
Quewin Nortje opened the scoring and Tristan Leyds converted for an early 7-0 lead, before Ngarohi McGarvey-Black scored and converted to level things at the break.
Nortje scored his second in the second half to push his side into the lead again, before Sofia Maka scored and McGarvey-Black converted for New Zealand to take a 14-12 lead.
That was cancelled out by Donavan Don, who scored in the corner with two minutes left, handing his side a 17-14 lead. McGarvey-Black scored gus second though for a 19-17 lead, with Maka making the last errant Blitzboks pass count to score his second.
Scoring summary
South Africa 17 (7), New Zealand 24 (7)
Scorers:
SA - Tries: Quewin Nortje (2), Donavan Don. Conversion: Tristan Leyds
NZ - Tries: Ngarohi McGarvey-Black (2), Sofai Maka (2). Conversions: McGarvey-Black (2)
