By Mark Etheridge
The Blitzboks maintained their winning streak on Saturday as they vanquished Chile 33-0 in their opening game of the HSBC Vancouver Sevens tournament.
They would have been expected to cruise past their South American opponents, but it wasn’t plain sailing as they only led 14-0 at the break after tries by captain Philip Snyman and Dylan Sage.
Coach Neil Powell stressed the need to hold on to both the ball, and their structures at halftime and patience paid off as they went on to score 19 unanswered points in the second half.
Sage got his double in the second half after a huge hand-off, and ran in from the halfway line.
Then it was Siviwe Soyizwapi who capitalised on some scrappy play by the Chileans near their tryline… scooping up a loose ball and dotting down.
With 30 seconds to play, the Blitzboks wrapped it up as they dispossed the Chileans again, and some good work by Stedman Gans saw Chris Dry sealing things.
Next up for the Blitzboks are continental rivals Kenya at 00.54am, and then they face a tough task against England at 4.34 on Sunday.
Picture of Sage courtesy of Chris Hyde/Getty Images