Blitzboks make nervy start in Hong Kong
The Springbok Sevens team opened their Hong Kong Sevens campaign with a nervous 12-7 win over minnows Uruguay on Friday.
The Blitzboks, who won the recent World SVNS Series, have never won the Hong Kong tournament, considered the jewel in the Sevens crown. The Hong Kong tournament is part of a three tournament World Championship, which will crown the ultimate World Champion in the shortened version of the sport.
The gritty Los Terras side, who never said die, were able to tie the Blitzboks down for the first few minutes of the opening half, before a strong run by Shilton van Wyk created space for a wide ball to Tristan Leyds, who stepped his way out of a tackle to score the opening try.
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Then, after the halftime hooter, Selvyn Davids showed a wheelbarrow full of magic, stepping inside and out of two tackles, and surging ahead between the entire Los Terros team to leave the Blitzboks 12-0 up at the break.
Uruguay had most of the possession in the second half and eventually found the hole through Diego Ardao after a 20 phase move that spanned the length of the field to get themselves on the board right at the death.
The Blitzboks now face Spain at 8.49am and then on Saturday complete their pool fixtures against Argentina at 4.39am (CAT, GMT+2).
The Springbok Sevens Women’s team struggled in their opening game, losing 33-0 to Sevens giants Australia in their opening game. The Women’s side now face Canada at 9.12am and then on Saturday complete their pool games against Great Britain at 5.04am
Argentina men beat Spain 38-14 in the other early pool game on Friday
The countdown to #HSBCSVNSHKG is on ⏰
Take a look at just a handful of the games we’re looking forward to watching 👀
Supporting from home? Download the @RugbyPass app to watch the action live 📲#HSBCSVNS pic.twitter.com/CAGQsuUJC6 — HSBC SVNS (@SVNSSeries) April 16, 2026
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