Blitzboks get the Jobb done early at Vancouver Sevens

The Blitzboks got their Vancouver SVNS campaign off to the perfect start this weekend, with a hard-fought 12-10 win over New Zealand followed by a 28-7 win over Ireland.

Springbok SVNS coach Philip Snyman had suggested that the opening match against the All Blacks would set the tone for the rest of the tournament at BC Place.

When speedster Quewin Nortje went over for SA’s first try in the third minute, set up by veteran playmaker Selvyn Davids, it seemed that the Blitzboks would be in for a routine outing.

However, the abrasive All Blacks hit back two minutes later through Tone Ng Shiu, turning the match into an arm wrestle.They dominated ball possession as well, Snyman conceded.

Ronald Brown gave the Blitzboks a 12-5 edge at half-time.

Davids and Shilton van Wyk were prominent in the build-up, which began in the SA 22.

Forward Ryan Oosthuizen then went on a mazy run that resulted in a yellow card for Andrew Knewstubb at the breakdown.

SA made the most of the numerical advantage as Brown touched down after a scrum.

The star back had a great game on attack and in defence.

Replacement playmaker Dylan Leyds also sparked the SA attack on his introduction in the second half.

However, the Blitzboks often had to scramble on defence as the powerful All Black runners punched holes in the SA lines. Their defensive organisation was tested.

The All Blacks then made the most of a worrying injury to Oosthuizen in the second stanza.

Knewstubb scored to bring the All Blacks within two points. But SA held on for the win.

“Really happy with the end result after they won. We’re unbeaten. I think the game against New Zealand would be very tough. We knew they’re a quality side so they’re going to come out, (firing),” Snyman said.

“I think we made one or two unforced errors where we gave ball possession away.

“At the end of the day they had almost three-quarters of ball possession and we only had a quarter, so it’s always difficult to play against. But hats off to the players because with two minutes’ ball and still to beat New Zealand, it’s a massive shift and massive effort.”

The Blitzboks started their second match against Ireland with a try by Davids in the first minute. They never looked back.

There were further tries by veteran forward Siviwe Soyizwapi, Ricardo Duarttee and Donavan Don.

“I think we made one small adjustment on defence to be a little bit more aggressive and I think it worked against Ireland to get more ball possession, to get more turnovers, to be in their faces, so really proud of the guys,” Snyman said.

“They executed the plan extremely well and hopefully we can kick in to another gear tomorrow.”

Sebastiaan Jobb rounded off the scoring with a typical jinking run that left Irish defenders in his wake.

The Blitzbok flyer is back in the squad after a long injury absence.

His early form, and that of Lleyds, who missed the Perth SVNS with a hand injury, will no doubt please Snyman.

Don also looked sharp in the opening two matches, as did Van Wyk.

The injury to Oosthuizen will be a concern, however, especially in the absence of Blitzbok enforcer Zain Davids.

The Springbok SVNS also started their campaign in Perth with two wins but the wheels fell off in the semi-final loss to the hosts.

They have a chance to avenge that defeat in their final Pool B clash against Australia at 9.36pm on Saturday (SA time).

“We need to be a lot more clinical,” Snyman said. “We know Australia’s going to be a tough team. They’re going to be a more physical, they’re going to run hard.

“We need to make sure we stick on our tackles. We need to make our one-on-one hits, create pressure points at the breakdown and then when we have ball in hand, to capitalise.

“We’re a very dangerous side with ball in hand and we need to make sure we get more than 50% ball possession against them.”