MyZA

News, Directory, Events and Other Stuff

You are here: Home / News / Sport / Springbok Sevens Seventh

Springbok Sevens Seventh

The Springbok Sevens team put in a huge effort at the HSBC France Sevens this weekend, but sadly the results did not show that, so from the perspective of Blitzbok head coach Sandile Ngcobo, it was not all doom and gloom.

The Blitzboks lost to Australia in the fifth-place semi-final on Sunday in a desperately close 21-19 defeat and had that result gone the other way, he would have had better memories of the Toulouse event, Ngcobo said.

The results in Toulouse saw Argentina and Fiji confirm their Olympic Games qualification after New Zealand did so in Singapore, leaving the fourth qualifier to be confirmed in London next weekend.

Australia are currently in the pound seats on 125 World Series points, leaving the Blitzboks, on 116 points, with a very small chance to overhaul the Aussies.

“I felt at times we did not quite get the rewards,” said Ngcobo.

“We had two weeks of good preparation in Stellenbosch and the five players coming back into the team integrated well. That showed in this tournament, as the guys came back into those high profile matches and at times did well.

“There was frustration, especially in the first game on the opening day, when we did not play well at all, but day two started well, before we disappointed ourselves against Argentina.

“Against Australia the bounce of the ball and a call or two did not favour us either and that made the difference.”

Ngcobo said the team’s improvement during the tournament showed that some things were done well. After losing their opening pool game against France, the Blitzboks hit back with big wins over Fiji and the USA to book their spot in the quarter-finals, where they lost to eventual Toulouse runners up Argentina.

“The season is not over for us, so there is still an opportunity to improve, and we are keen to grab it,” said Ngcobo.

World Series standings:

  1. New Zealand – 186 points
  2. Argentina – 159
  3. France – 139
  4. Fiji – 138
  5. Australia – 125
  6. Samoa – 116
  7. South Africa – 116
  8. Ireland – 104
  9. USA – 95
  10. Great Britain – 94
Category: Tag:

If you feel strongly about this article then feel free to send MyZA a ‘Letter to the Editor’ using the submission form below:

Letter to the Editor

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
If this is in response to an article please include that article title here or as the lead in for the first paragraph of your Letter below.

Separate tags with commas

Localise your letter by naming the city your words are about. Add relevant words describing your subject. Single comma separated words of no more than 5
Your Name(Required)
Your Name will be linked to the website below.
Your personal, business or social media web site
Choose NO to not set up a user account on MyZA. User Accounts will allow you to submit letters under your own Author Name

3 Latest Letters to the Editor:

  • Older Persons Grants Land Today — No Need to Queue at Dawn

    Dear Editor, Older Persons grants are paid today, 30 October, under SASSA’s revised November payment schedule — with disability grants on Monday 2 November, children’s grants on Tuesday 3 November, and grants under review on Thursday 5 November. Two things every beneficiary should know. First, grant money does not expire on payment day. It stays…

  • November Grants Pay Early – No Need to Queue at Dawn

    Dear Editor, I run SAGrant (sagrant.co.za), a free resource helping South Africans navigate SASSA grants. November grants pay earlier than usual. Older Persons grants are paid on Friday 30 October, Disability grants on 2 November, and Child Support and other grants on 3 November. Grants still under review are paid on 5 November. The money…

  • NSFAS 2027 applications close on 31 October — SASSA households, apply now

    Dear Editor, I run SAGrant (sagrant.co.za), a free resource helping South Africans navigate SASSA grants. NSFAS applications for the 2027 academic year close on Friday 31 October 2026, and no extension is expected. If your household receives a SASSA grant, your child already passes the NSFAS financial eligibility test — but they still have to…

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Although Ireland has hosted the Rugby World Cup, they remain the only host nation that has not reached the semi-finals of the tournament. This demonstrates the competitive nature of the sport and the ongoing quest for Irish rugby to achieve greater success on the international stage.