Blitzboks flop yet again, crash out in Las Vegas

Cape Town - The Springbok Sevens team will face Fiji in Las Vegas on Sunday evening, not in the Cup competition of the tournament as they had hoped, but rather in the semi-final for fifth place.

South Africa were eliminated 29-10 by the USA in the Cup quarter-finals in Las Vegas, where Fiji, Australia and England also fell by the wayside at the same stage of the competition.

The USA, New Zealand, Samoa and Argentina will contest the Cup semi-finals the fifth tournament of the World Rugby Sevens Series.

Earlier on the second day, the Blitzboks delivered a commanding 29-12 win over the English in their final match to top their pool. However, they were blown away by a determined USA in the Cup quarters, trailing 19-0 at the break and then 29-0 before two late tries eased the pain a little.

Sunday's matches will be significant for the overall standings, as all teams have their eyes firmly focussed on a top four spot on the overall World Series log, which will bring automatic qualification for the Olympic Games in Japan in 2020.

Front runners, New Zealand and USA face each other in the Cup semi-finals at the Sam Boyd Stadium and will extend their lead on the table, but to the next four teams on the log - Fiji (72 points), South Africa (57), England (54) and Australia (47) - every result in Nevada will be crucial on the third and final day of the event, which kicks off on Sunday evening (SA time).

The Blitzboks will only benefit from the Cup elimination by the three other countries if they manage to beat Fiji and the winner of the England/Australia semi-final in the subsequent fifth place final.

The Blitzboks will face Fiji at 22:28 on Sunday.

Should they win that match, they will face the winner of the Australia v England clash in the playoff for 5th/6th spot at 01:35 on Monday.

Results from day two of the USA round of the World Rugby Sevens Series in Las Vegas on Saturday:

Pool A

Canada 19 Samoa 26

New Zealand 19 Spain 7

Pool B

Argentina 19 Kenya 24

United States 19 France 10

Pool C

Japan 19 Chile 7

England 12 South Africa 29

Pool D

Wales 14 Scotland 19

Fiji 15 Australia 26

Cup

Quarter-finals

New Zealand 19 Fiji 14

South Africa 10 United States 29

Australia 20 Samoa 21

Argentina 26 England 21 (aet)

Sunday's semi-finals

New Zealand v United States - 23:12 (SA time)

Samoa v Argentina - 23:34 (SA time)