Blitzboks end third in Paris, fourth in Series

The Springbok Sevens team ended their run in this year’s HSBC World Sevens Series with a third place in the Paris Sevens, a disappointing outcome despite the impressive 24-7 defeat of the USA in the bronze-medal match-up.

In a year where change was inevitable given the players that left the squad, the Blitzboks came up short once again when it mattered most by being dominated by New Zealand 33-7 in the semifinal after looking so good in their opening four matches of the tournament.

Fiji beat New Zealand 35-24 in the Cup final to take the Paris crown and underline their status as 2018/19 World Series champions.

The bronze match bodes well for the future of Bok Sevens though, as youngsters Muller du Plessis (2) and Ryan Oosthuizen crossed for the team, with Phillip Snyman adding the extra try to seal the win.

But in a season where they came to defend their crown, to end fourth in the series standings is probably a little lower than a re-building Blitzboks will be happy with.

Their semifinal performance was another disappointment in a season where there have been too many sub-par displays, and while they produced the goods on day one of every tournament this season - finishing top of their group at every event - day two proved their Achilles' heel.

A top-four finish in the season standings made sure of their qualification for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but there is plenty to work on ahead of the 2019-20 opening, leading up to the grand finale in Japan.