Blitzbokke romp past Samoa into Dubai Sevens final

07 December 2019 - 14:20
By LIAM DEL CARME
Zain Davids of South Africa breaks away with the ball during the men's cup semifinal against Samoa on day three of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series - Dubai at The Sevens Stadium on Saturday.
Image: Francois Nel/Getty Images Zain Davids of South Africa breaks away with the ball during the men's cup semifinal against Samoa on day three of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series - Dubai at The Sevens Stadium on Saturday.

South Africa surged into the final of the Dubai leg of the World Sevens Series on Saturday.

They overwhelmed Samoa 38-7 in their semifinal thanks largely to a thunderous performance from forward Ryan Oosthuizen. He proved instrumental in attack and defence as the Blitzbokke set up a meeting with New Zealand in the final.

New Zealand beat England 19-12 in their semifinal.

The Blitzbokke took a while to get going, however. Paul Scanlan tiptoed through the Blitzbokke defence inside the first 90 seconds to help hand Samoa, under the tutelage of former New Zealand coaching guru Gordon Tietjens, a 7-0 lead.

Burly Zain Davids, however, bust two tackles to score in the corner but Justin Geduld, with the help of the left-hand upright, converted from the touchline.

Captain Siviwe Soyizwapi rounded off a move just before the break to crucially hand the Blitzbokke a 19-7 lead.

Under pressure, Samoa tried to run out from their goal line but an ensuing ruck turnover effectively killed off the contest when Ruan Nel dotted down. Seabelo Senatla and then Selvyn Davids ran in tries to complete the romp.