‘Underdogs’ South Africa ready themselves for ‘tough’ Olympic semi-final

It’s been an interesting two days for the South Africa men’s sevens side at the Paris Olympic Games.

Ireland and New Zealand beat them on the opening day at Stade de France, but after defeating Japan by more than 40 points on Thursday, the South Africans gave themselves a chance at medalling.

South Africa qualified for the all-important quarter-finals as one of the top two third-placed sides in pool play, and it seemed it was always their destiny to face their arch-rivals once again with a semi-final spot on the line.

New Zealand had flown through pool play with a hard-fought run of three wins from as many stars, which included a 40-12 triumph over Japan and a two-point win against the fighting Irish. There was no doubt who the favourites were before Thursday’s quarter-final.

But that didn’t bother the “underdogs" who went on to win 14-7.

“We knew we’re the underdogs because we had a bad season and yesterday, New Zealand beat us,” South Africa’s Selvyn Davids said on the Olympics broadcast.

“We just came out and gave it our all.

“We knew we only had one chance.”

Captain Selvyn Davids opened the scoring for the men from The Rainbow Nation a few minutes into the contest – which drew a popular cheer from the French crowd. Davids ran through a gap into New Zealand’s defensive line untouched for the opener.

The skipper did everything but score the next try as well after booting the ball forward for a clearance, chasing after it with desperation, and then regathering possession before getting an offload off to try-scoring Tristan Leyds.

South Africa’s solid defensive effort against Ireland was a big talking point out of day one, and it was once again front-and-centre after holding the Kiwis out for almost the entire match. Moses Leo scored their only try on the stroke of half-time.

“I think we just stuck to our guns. We know New Zealand is a quality team so we just tried to stick to our guns, just follow the gameplan,” Davids explained.

“We fought for 40 minutes and that's what it takes to win or be successful in a sevens game.”

It doesn’t get any easier for South Africa who will take on Antoine Dupont’s France in a blockbuster semi-final. France have stumbled a bit with a draw to the USA and a loss to Fiji, but with it all to play for, this really is anyone’s game.

With a sold-out Stade de France in their corner, it seems likely that South Africa will once again carry the ‘underdog’ tag into that semi-final. France did just beat SVNS Series League Winners Argentina 26-14 so they’ve likely earned that moniker.

“It’s gonna be tough.

“Our next game… it’s gonna be tough. We need to stay focused and keep our heads in the game.”

In the other semi-final, the Australian men’s side qualified for the final four for the first time at an Olympic Games after beating the USA 18-nil. The Aussies are four from four at the Games as well after beating Argentina, Samoa and Kenya in pool play.

But they’ll have their work cut out for them against Fiji. The Fijians are the two-time defending Olympic gold medallists, and they’ve never dropped a game at the world’s biggest sporting competition.

Fiji defeated France in pool play and snuck by Ireland 19-15 in the quarter-finals to remain in with a chance of claiming yet another Olympic medal.