Sevens: Blitz Bokke Honour ‘Madiba’ With Emotion Charged Victory
by Brendan Bradford -
As South Africa celebrated the life and mourned the passing of inspirational leader Nelson Mandela, the BlitzBokke stormed to an emotion-charged victory in the third round of the IRB Sevens World Series in Port Elizabeth at the weekend.
It is the first home win for South Africa since the tournament moved to the appropriately named Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium three years ago. After losing the decider to Fiji in Dubai last weekend, the victory lifts the BlitzBokke to second place in the overall standings with 56 points, two adrift of the Kiwis and eight ahead of Fiji.
Facing a New Zealand side still smarting from a 44-0 drubbing at the hands of Fiji last weekend in Dubai, South Africa dominated the second half of the final to record a nail-biting 17-14 win which they dedicated to the