Blitzbokke won't give up

Cape Town - It may be out of their hands, but the Blitzbokke are in no mood to throw in the towel at the London leg of the Sevens World Series on Saturday and Sunday.

Coach Neil Powell’s men currently find themselves five points behind pacific islanders Fiji in the race for the title, and the fact that they are on opposite ends of the draw means that a meeting between the nations before the tournament final is unlikely.

South Africa would need to win in London this weekend and hope that Fiji finish in fourth place or worse. It’s a long shot, but the Blitzbokke are not prepared to give up on anything just yet.

“Our team is built on a culture where we will never lie on our backs and accept defeat,” stalwart Chris Dry said ahead of Saturday’s opening fixture against France (10:00).

“We want to go out there and play like we can play, and also for the people back home to show how much their support means to us, and that we can only show on the field.”

The Blitzbokke let their World Series lead slip last weekend in Glasgow when they were bundled out of the quarter-finals at the hands of Fiji. A quarter-final between the sides in London would suit the Blitzbokke, but that is an unlikely scenario given that both SA and Fiji are expected to top their respective pools.

“I think for us it is about getting back to zero, back to our middle point and just to start again. I think after this (last) week we had a little bit of disappointment,” said Dry.

“We’ve got high standards for ourselves and we need to get back on the horse and keep working forward.”

Pool A

Fiji

Canada

Argentina

Samoa

Pool D

South Africa

France

Portugal

USA

World Series standings

Fiji - 147

South Africa - 142

New Zealand - 139

England - 117

Australia - 101

Points allocation by position in London 

1st - 22

2nd - 19

3rd - 17

4th - 15