The Blitzboks claimed a 29-0 victory over Scotland in their fifth-place semi-final at the Dubai Sevens on Saturday. MARIETTE ADAMS reports.
Following their early elimination from the Cup competition, South Africa came into this encounter with a desire to prove a point. And knowing there are valuable points on offer in terms of the series table and Olympic qualification, they produced their best performance of the weekend to see off Scotland and book their place in the fifth-place final.
The first half was a stop-start affair with the Blitzboks just edging Scotland 5-0 at the break. But the South Africans turned on the style in the second stanza to clinch a runaway triumph. Muller du Plessis scored a brace and Rosko Specman scored one and provided two tries assists.
Du Plessis expertly beat his defender on the outside for the opening try which gave his side the lead at half-time.
Werner Kok and Zain Davids both stormed over soon after the restart, extending the advantage to 19 points, before Du Plessis went around the outside again for his second, followed by Specman’s long-range effort to complete the rout.
South Africa will now contest the fifth-place final against Fiji, who beat Argentina 31-21 in the other semi-final.
Photo: Francois Nel/Getty Images
