Blitzbok flyer Rosko Specman bagged a hat-trick of tries as the Springbok Sevens team opened their HSBC Sydney Sevens campaign with a strong 50-0 win over Papua New Guinea on Friday.
Springbok Sevens coach Neil Powell was pleased with the eight try romp, but warned that Spain and England, the remaining opponents for the Blitzboks in pool C of the tournament, will ask more challenging questions from his team when they clash on Saturday.
“Spain is a team that is making great progress,” said Powell.
“They play some good sevens and we need to start all over again when we face them on Saturday. We need to lay down the foundation for the rest of the day.”
Specman scored his tries in the second, eighth and 11th minutes of play, with Ruhan Nel (twice), Seabelo Senatla, Stedman Gans and Cecil Afrika also crossing the tryline. Justin Geduld kicked four conversions and Afrika one.
“I asked the guys to keep the game structured and was happy with this win as PNG loves to play against an unstructured defence,” said Powell.
“We were in a position to make changes at half-time already and it was good to give everyone a run, to get their lungs going.”
The Springbok Sevens are the defending champions at the event, the third of ten in the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series.
SA schedule on Saturday, 27 January (SA times):
- 06h03: Spain
- 09h14: England
Image © Gallo Images
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