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‘They just wanted it more’: Blitzboks miss out on Cup quarters again
South Africa will not play in the men’s Cup quarter-finals in Los Angeles. For the second tournament on the bounce, the Blitzboks will battle it out for ninth place at best.
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After winning the first SVNS Series stop of the season in Dubai, South Africa have slowly fallen away as they’ve struggled to replicate their heroics from earlier in the campaign.
Playing at LA’s Dignity Health Sports Park, the South Africans were beaten in pool play by heavyweights Argentina and Ireland – the two top teams on the overall standings.
While they managed to get the better of Spain 22-19 in their final match on Day Two in the City of Angels, it wasn’t enough to see them through to the knockout rounds.
“It was a tough weekend. It didn’t go our way, we’re out of the Cup and it’s tough. It’s a tough pill to swallow,” captain Selvyn Davids told RugbyPass.
“The Spain game… it’s just one positive out of the weekend. I think we still have a game left so we’re just going to try and build on that.
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“The teams we’ve played are great teams. By the looks of it, they just wanted it more than us and that’s why they got the results. They played wonderful rugby.
“That’s just part of the game. We just have to suck it up and come back stronger.”
Walking off the field on Friday night after their first loss in Los Angeles, veteran Rosko Specman walked past the SVNS LAX trophy and touched it as he walked by.
This is a team that expects excellence from themselves, and their supporters want to see their rugby heroes back at the top of the sevens world as well.
But it just hasn’t gone to plan, and it was painfully obvious how much that hurt.
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Away from the watchful eyes of supporters, the Blitzboks huddled up down the tunnel after their win over Spain. You could see the disappointment on their faces.
Captain Davids was the same. In the words of the skipper: “It’s tough to disappoint the jersey. It’s quite emotional just to think about it.
“This jersey definitely means a lot to us. There are millions of boys back in South Africa that want to wear this jersey. We’re the privileged ones to wear this jersey,” Davids said.
“Just for us to know that this is a privilege to wear this jersey, and not just something you’ll get every day.
“But, yeah, it just didn’t go our way. We always try to leave it out there for the jersey and for the people back home and even all across the world.
“We’re a bit disappointed that the result didn’t go our way but like I said, the jersey definitely means a lot to us.”
South Africa finished ninth in Vancouver last Sunday after getting the better of Australia. For the second week in a row, they’ll be vying for the same placing here in Los Angeles.
What a try-stopper from Connor O’Sullivan 🔥🇮🇪#HSBCSVNS | #HSBCSVNSLAX pic.twitter.com/wmZNHbjPmg
— HSBC SVNS (@SVNSSeries) March 2, 2024
“We showed a few glimpses in the past two tournaments of what we can do. We just have to stay consistent – I think that’s our biggest problem at the moment.
“We just can’t keep on telling ourselves we’re in the building phase. It’s been two years now.
“There are a few new players, we are trying a few combinations, but there’s a lot of senior guys so we just have to step it up a bit and just try to stick to the plan that the coaches give us.
“We just have to keep on working for each other… there’s a few of us that are not on the same page and if we’re not the whole 13, or the 12 that’s going onto the pitch, if one of us is not on the same page as the other 11, things can go wrong like it did this past two weekends.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Just what the Sharks needed to get things going in the right direction Defence on the outside really creates havoc for the whole team and needs to be addressed.
7 Go to commentsWell done guys both teams will be ready to play knockout rugby.
1 Go to commentsSurprised that Ramos isn't starting at 15. But what a squad of galacticos!
2 Go to commentsWhy is it a snub? What journalistic garbage is that? Sure the guy is a great player, but there are plenty of loose forwards and not all of them can be Springboks. Also, I know of no-one who doubts Rassie’s judgment. South Africa has a conveyor belt of loose forwards that just keeps producing, so the competition is intense. I certainly wish him well, but there is no entitlement and there is no snub.
17 Go to commentsSkelton may be brought back for the Wallabies so that would be the only reason that may hinder Wilson. Easily the form, most skilful and game IQ of any Oz 8. Valentini’s best and favourite position is 6, but lineouts may be an issue with Skelton, Valentini and Wilson. Will be interesting what Schmidt goes for but for me Wilson should be picked on form. Schmidt rewards work rate, skill and consistency. All that glitters every so often won’t be in contention. Greely is one of those players that has a knack of making the right decision. A coach is going to love him because he knows week in week out he’s going to get the job done. The second try Greely wasn’t the guy who made the initial break it was Flook, Greely was at the bottom of the ruck when Flook was off along the sideline. Greely got up and made the effort to catch up with play but also read the play nicely and hit the pass from Campbell at pace and then held the pass beautifully to Ryan.
6 Go to commentsSpot on Ben. Dead right. Havili looked great at 10. Easily the highest rugby IQ of any NZ player these days. Getting a kick charged down is a result of getting used to adjusting your depth to the line at 10, which he will sort out with time. But other than that it was an outstanding first effort in that position this year. I think the NZ media has misunderstood this directive from Razor. Havili might rank behind B Barrett this year, but Beuden is 33 this month and won't last much longer. DMaC is great but flaky and not really a test match animal (his efforts in Dunedin versus Aus last year for example). If Razor can't have Mounga, DMaC is too unstructured for Razor (and is just too small for test rugby). Havili will end up our first choice first five, and in partnership with Jodie will be excellent. Two triple threat operators in tandem, and big bodies and tough tacklers to boot. Jordoe will be the ABs goal kicker. I am an Aucklander and Blues (and Warriors) fan, but Havili at 10 is going to be sensational in time… he can be the best first five in the world by the end of this year. No question.
6 Go to commentsSharks deserved to be far further back by the last quarter. Their tackling was awful, their set pieces were disappointing, their defensive organization was poor (especially on the Kok side of the D line), they kept making unnecessary errors, and they never looked like cracking the Clermont defense during those first 60m. Masuku kept them in touch, with some help from the Clermont generosity on penalty opportunities. Agree with the writer of this article. It was belligerence, and ability to raise their pressure game just enough, that turned the last quarter into a Bok-style shutout. Clermont have a reputation of not playing the full 80m, and there was a bit of that for sure. But, quite often when the intensity of a team drops off in the last quarter credit is due to the opponent for tiring them out. At 60m, with the Kok try, you thought that just maybe the game was on. At 70m, with the Mapimpi contribution, one felt that Clermont were fading, while facing a team that would maintain the pressure game through the final whistle. Good win in the end, but the Sharks are still playing way below their potential. And with their resources, and a coach that has had enough time to figure things out, they are running out of excuses.
7 Go to commentsGood riddance
1 Go to commentswel the crusaders were beaten by a queensland reds side that hadnt beaten them at home since 1999 and queensland reds partied like it was 1999
6 Go to commentsHard to disagree with the 5 points - with the exception that Wilson should be a squad member but, depending on the other loose forward selections, is not yet a shoo-in. McReight is. Aussie is looking a lot better this year and JS has some selection options. Also, Havili’s tendency to get caught, charged down is also a liability at times but he seemed focused (mostly) and is definitely a consideration for utility back-up. Still feel Reihana is a better prospect at 1st five for Saders.
6 Go to commentsYeah nah, still not sure on Havili tbh. Even though I’m a Crusaders fan through and through I’d be stunned if Razor considers him after seeing some of the stunning talent coming through up North.
6 Go to commentsThink it was a great defensive performance by Northampton. They didn't have stage fright in the first half, the Nienaber defense smothered them. They limited Leinster to 15-3 in the first half. It could have been over by then. A great try from Leinster in the start of the second half looked to have sealed it. But Byrne missed another conversion. Northampton started trying little kicks behind the Leinster wingers. Leinster messed one and Smith brilliantly made the conversion. Leinster decided to tighten the game after Byrne missed a straight forward penalty. A few errors got NH into the 22 and they scored and converted with a few minutes left. Another brilliant steal from Lawes saw NH have a final attack which was turned over by Conan. A classic semi final. World record attendance of 82,300. Leinsters 3 week preparation warranted for this one.
1 Go to commentsJust came back from the game and the atmosphere was amazing. Players stayed afterwards for more than a hour to sign stuff and take photos with fans. Great day out.
7 Go to commentsA great game. The Sharks without Etsebeth are a shadow of the team compared to when he plays. The limitations of Some of the expensive Sharks players are being exposed. Credit to Clermont for some exhilaration play at times.
7 Go to comments100% Mr Owens. But who would want to be a referee.? It must be the most difficult job on earth.
1 Go to commentsStarts to be overdone and oversold this systematic SA narrative…which nevertheless has the merit in this case to recognise blatant refereeing mistakes in their favor
7 Go to commentsNice article. Shades of Steinbeck. They can win the final if they take the game seriously; but only if they take it seriously.
7 Go to commentsWhat a sad way to end a glittering career. Somebody should tell him to delete his social media accounts and face the consequences of what he's done. Then he should slip away quietly into obscurity. This isn't likely to happen, something tells me he'll be back in The Sun / Daily Mail sooner rather than later.
5 Go to commentsguys its fine! he understands why he did what he did and has taken accountability for it; why should he have to be accountable to a court? after all he did was abuse people in person - its not as if he was engaging in _online_ abuse!
5 Go to commentsChiefs flanker Kaylum Boshier yellow-carded for collapsing the scrum as it rolled towards the line. It was a maul….
1 Go to comments