The Blitzboks suffered defeat in their opening game of the Paris Olympics, edged 10-5 in a blockbuster clash against Ireland at the iconic Stade de France where hosts France were held to a draw by the US.
The Blitzboks could not argue that they were the second best side on the park during the game, though a controversial call ensured Ireland’s second a decisive try to killed off their chances.
While Ireland had around 90 per cent possession, and the Blitzboks touched the ball for around 5 seconds in the first half, they rallied late but ran out of time eventually to go down fighting.
The controversial call, which came halfway in the second half, went against Ryan Oosthuizen as the referee called for TMO intervention for supposed foul play.
But replays showed the hit wasn’t high, and it was Oosthuizen who took the brunt of the hit in an awkward tackle.
Nevertheless, it was decided that there was foul play, despite the lack of evidence, and Oosthuizen was yellow carded and spent the final two minutes in the sin bin.
Shortly after the restart, Terry Kennedy wrong-footed the defence on the blindside and scored, taking his side to 10-0 up.
Selvyn Davids doubled with Rosko Specman for a late try but the crucial restart after the hooter didn’t travel 10 metres and Ireland were let off the hook.
It came after a first half where the Blitzboks had no ball, and Ireland fluffed two chances to score, with Terry Kennedy’s grubber and chase rolling over the dead ball line before he could dive and Jordan Conroy losing the ball over the line.
Tristan Leyds was lucky on the halftime whistle not to be carded for head on head clash as the teams went to halftime with Ireland leading 5-0.
Quewin Nortje was beaten by a cruel bounce from a Davids grubber in the only other scoring possibility from the first half.
The loudest cheer of the day was reserved for when Antoine Dupont, who has mostly come on as an impact replacement, was announced in the starting line-up in the Pool C opener against the US.
The crowd were treated to a thriller of a match with American Marcus Tupuola scoring a late try to lock up the scores at 12-12. Madison Hughes missed the conversion leaving the two teams to share the spoils.
“It was a huge atmosphere,” Dupont said.
“It's not common for us to play in this kind of stadium, we have to embrace this atmosphere, to embrace this pressure, to play better in the next game.”
Fiji are seeking a hat-trick of golds to underline their dominance in their national sport and they later went top of Pool C with a thumping 40-12 victory over Uruguay, who were no match for the speed and power of the Pacific islanders.
Earlier, Australia kicked off their Pool B campaign with a 21-14 win over Samoa fired by two tries from veteran flyer Henry Hutchison.
Argentina were roundly booed by the crowd when they took to the pitch for their Pool B match against Kenya in what was perhaps a spillover from the 2022 Soccer World Cup final between France and the South Americans.
Such was their disdain for the men in powder blue-and-white, the crowd jeered even when Argentina scored their five tries while loudly cheering on every Kenya move.
Argentina were unperturbed as they toyed with the African side and eased to a 31-12 victory.
New Zealand thrashed Japan 40-12 in the other Pool A clash. — SuperSport.com, Reuters
Blitzboks suffer opening day disappointment
Image: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images
The Blitzboks suffered defeat in their opening game of the Paris Olympics, edged 10-5 in a blockbuster clash against Ireland at the iconic Stade de France where hosts France were held to a draw by the US.
The Blitzboks could not argue that they were the second best side on the park during the game, though a controversial call ensured Ireland’s second a decisive try to killed off their chances.
While Ireland had around 90 per cent possession, and the Blitzboks touched the ball for around 5 seconds in the first half, they rallied late but ran out of time eventually to go down fighting.
The controversial call, which came halfway in the second half, went against Ryan Oosthuizen as the referee called for TMO intervention for supposed foul play.
But replays showed the hit wasn’t high, and it was Oosthuizen who took the brunt of the hit in an awkward tackle.
Nevertheless, it was decided that there was foul play, despite the lack of evidence, and Oosthuizen was yellow carded and spent the final two minutes in the sin bin.
Shortly after the restart, Terry Kennedy wrong-footed the defence on the blindside and scored, taking his side to 10-0 up.
Selvyn Davids doubled with Rosko Specman for a late try but the crucial restart after the hooter didn’t travel 10 metres and Ireland were let off the hook.
It came after a first half where the Blitzboks had no ball, and Ireland fluffed two chances to score, with Terry Kennedy’s grubber and chase rolling over the dead ball line before he could dive and Jordan Conroy losing the ball over the line.
Tristan Leyds was lucky on the halftime whistle not to be carded for head on head clash as the teams went to halftime with Ireland leading 5-0.
Quewin Nortje was beaten by a cruel bounce from a Davids grubber in the only other scoring possibility from the first half.
The loudest cheer of the day was reserved for when Antoine Dupont, who has mostly come on as an impact replacement, was announced in the starting line-up in the Pool C opener against the US.
The crowd were treated to a thriller of a match with American Marcus Tupuola scoring a late try to lock up the scores at 12-12. Madison Hughes missed the conversion leaving the two teams to share the spoils.
“It was a huge atmosphere,” Dupont said.
“It's not common for us to play in this kind of stadium, we have to embrace this atmosphere, to embrace this pressure, to play better in the next game.”
Fiji are seeking a hat-trick of golds to underline their dominance in their national sport and they later went top of Pool C with a thumping 40-12 victory over Uruguay, who were no match for the speed and power of the Pacific islanders.
Earlier, Australia kicked off their Pool B campaign with a 21-14 win over Samoa fired by two tries from veteran flyer Henry Hutchison.
Argentina were roundly booed by the crowd when they took to the pitch for their Pool B match against Kenya in what was perhaps a spillover from the 2022 Soccer World Cup final between France and the South Americans.
Such was their disdain for the men in powder blue-and-white, the crowd jeered even when Argentina scored their five tries while loudly cheering on every Kenya move.
Argentina were unperturbed as they toyed with the African side and eased to a 31-12 victory.
New Zealand thrashed Japan 40-12 in the other Pool A clash. — SuperSport.com, Reuters
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