The Blitzboks kicked off their Sydney Sevens title defence with an impressive 50-0 win over Papua New Guinea on Friday.

After a seven-week layoff, dating back to the Cape Town Sevens in December, the Blitzboks showed no signs of rustiness as they hit the ground running against the minnows.

Ruhan Nel and Rosko Specman scored five tries between them, while Justin Geduld’s accurate goal-kicking will have also pleased coach Neil Powell.

It was a mismatch from the outset as South Africa piled on the pressure and were unlucky not to score early on as Papua New Guinea held captain Philip Snyman up off the ground over the tryline. But it didn’t take the Blitzboks long to edge ahead on the scoreboard as Specman dotted down in the corner.

Nel scored next after splitting the opposition’s defence with a beautifully angled run in the middle of the field and he completed his brace on the stroke of half-time as the Blitzboks took a commanding 21-0 lead.

The second half saw the floodgates open. Mere seconds after the restart, Seabelo Senatla raced away after the ball was shifted through the hands quickly in the backline.

Specman went on to score two more tries to complete his hat-trick, while Stedman Gans and Cecil Afrika chipped in with a try each to take the Blitzboks up to the 50-point mark.

The Blitzboks’ remaining two pool matches are against Spain (06:03 SA time) and England (09:14) on Saturday.

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