The Springbok Sevens squad were knocked out of the Cup competition of the Emirates Airline George Sevens when they lost 19-10 to England in a dramatic quarterfinal on Saturday.
The Boks were first to score at the Outeniqua Park stadium — which was nearly filled to capacity — but were in the end outsmarted by the current series leaders.
In the opening phase of play Cecil Afrika cut through the English defence with his first touch and was later rewarded with the opening try of the match.
A crucial lapse in concentration at a ruck cost the Boks dearly, and with only Pieter Englbrecht to beat, England added their first five points through John Brake.
The Boks bounced back on the stroke of half-time when the nippy Bernado Botha ran in his team’s second try, which gave the hosts a 10-5 lead.
Despite having many opportunities to do so, the Boks could not score in the second half and instead had to watch in despair as the visitors took control of proceedings.
With two minutes left to play, England’s Isoa Damu levelled the scores.
Ben Gollings converted and England had a crucial two point lead.
From that point it was clear the next team to score would win the match and again it was a case of England showing greater composure under pressure.
Brake then waltzed over for the match winner, which silenced the previously vocal South African supporters. — Sapa