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Cape Town - The Blitzbokke have suffered an embarrassing defeat at the hands of Samoa in their Pool D decider at the Tokyo Sevens on Saturday.
The Samoans won 38-7, after leading 24-0 at half-time.
Samoa scored inside the first two minutes, with Alafoti Faosiliva finishing a good move, which included some slick passing from his team-mates.
Veteran Lolo Lui converted for a 7-0 lead.
South Africa fought back hard, but were unable to round off - with handling errors proving their undoing at key times. They were punished when Samoa launched a counter-attack from close to their own goal-line which enabled Afa Aiono to dot down.
What was to follow was complete disaster for South Africa, with Samoa raking in two more tries in the last minute-and-a-half of the first period to surge clear.
Paul Perez scored from the ensuing kick-off and Ken Pisi scored as the half-time siren sounded. Lui converted for a 24-0 lead at the break.
South Africa received a boost at the start of the second half when Perez was sin-binned and made full use of their numerical advantage when William Small-Smith bashed over inside the first two minutes.
Renfred Dazel converted to give the South Africans some hope at 7-24 down.
South Africa had another chance to score straight away, which could have brought them back into the game, but Samoa turned the ball over and Perez broke brilliantly down the touchline, only to be hauled in metres short by Dazel.
South Africa then lost possession deep into their own half after the ensuing line-out and Ken Pisi pounced to put the result beyond doubt.
Lui converted for a 31-7 lead.
By now the Blitzbokke were a dejected looking outfit and Alatasi Tupou piled on their misery when he scored just before full-time.
Tupou converted his own try for a 38-7 victory to hand the Blitzbokke one of their worst ever defeats.
Despite the heavy defeat the Blitzbokke are still through to Sunday's Cup quarter-finals, courtesy of earlier wins over Scotland (14-0) and Portugal (12-7) on Saturday.
They will face England, who surprised by topping their pool after defeating Fiji 14-7. This could come as a blessing in disguise for coach Paul Treu's men, as they have a significantly better recent record against England than Fiji.
Samoa will now play Fiji in their quarter-final, with New Zealand taking on Argentina and Wales facing Australia.
Results on Saturday from the Tokyo Sevens:
Pool A
England 15, Japan 5
Fiji 17, France 0
England 19, France 7
Fiji 26, Japan 7
France 24, Japan 5
England 14, Fiji 7
Pool B
New Zealand 26, United States 5
Australia 17, Hong Kong 14
New Zealand 40, Hong Kong 0
Australia 15, United States 0
United States 21, Hong Kong 19
New Zealand 22, Australia 10
Pool C
Wales 10, Russia 7
Argentina 15, Kenya 7
Argentina 22, Russia 0
Wales 22, Kenya 0
Russia 26, Kenya 17
Wales 17, Argentina 5
Pool D
South Africa 14, Scotland 0
Samoa 21, Portugal 20
South Africa 12, Portugal 7
Samoa 14, Scotland 7
Portugal 15, Scotland 7
Samoa 38, South Africa 7
The Samoans won 38-7, after leading 24-0 at half-time.
Samoa scored inside the first two minutes, with Alafoti Faosiliva finishing a good move, which included some slick passing from his team-mates.
Veteran Lolo Lui converted for a 7-0 lead.
South Africa fought back hard, but were unable to round off - with handling errors proving their undoing at key times. They were punished when Samoa launched a counter-attack from close to their own goal-line which enabled Afa Aiono to dot down.
What was to follow was complete disaster for South Africa, with Samoa raking in two more tries in the last minute-and-a-half of the first period to surge clear.
Paul Perez scored from the ensuing kick-off and Ken Pisi scored as the half-time siren sounded. Lui converted for a 24-0 lead at the break.
South Africa received a boost at the start of the second half when Perez was sin-binned and made full use of their numerical advantage when William Small-Smith bashed over inside the first two minutes.
Renfred Dazel converted to give the South Africans some hope at 7-24 down.
South Africa had another chance to score straight away, which could have brought them back into the game, but Samoa turned the ball over and Perez broke brilliantly down the touchline, only to be hauled in metres short by Dazel.
South Africa then lost possession deep into their own half after the ensuing line-out and Ken Pisi pounced to put the result beyond doubt.
Lui converted for a 31-7 lead.
By now the Blitzbokke were a dejected looking outfit and Alatasi Tupou piled on their misery when he scored just before full-time.
Tupou converted his own try for a 38-7 victory to hand the Blitzbokke one of their worst ever defeats.
Despite the heavy defeat the Blitzbokke are still through to Sunday's Cup quarter-finals, courtesy of earlier wins over Scotland (14-0) and Portugal (12-7) on Saturday.
They will face England, who surprised by topping their pool after defeating Fiji 14-7. This could come as a blessing in disguise for coach Paul Treu's men, as they have a significantly better recent record against England than Fiji.
Samoa will now play Fiji in their quarter-final, with New Zealand taking on Argentina and Wales facing Australia.
Results on Saturday from the Tokyo Sevens:
Pool A
England 15, Japan 5
Fiji 17, France 0
England 19, France 7
Fiji 26, Japan 7
France 24, Japan 5
England 14, Fiji 7
Pool B
New Zealand 26, United States 5
Australia 17, Hong Kong 14
New Zealand 40, Hong Kong 0
Australia 15, United States 0
United States 21, Hong Kong 19
New Zealand 22, Australia 10
Pool C
Wales 10, Russia 7
Argentina 15, Kenya 7
Argentina 22, Russia 0
Wales 22, Kenya 0
Russia 26, Kenya 17
Wales 17, Argentina 5
Pool D
South Africa 14, Scotland 0
Samoa 21, Portugal 20
South Africa 12, Portugal 7
Samoa 14, Scotland 7
Portugal 15, Scotland 7
Samoa 38, South Africa 7
