Horror start for Springbok Sevens in Paris
The Springbok Sevens lost both of their pool matches on the opening day of the Rugby Sevens tournament in Paris on Wednesday.
They lost 10-5 to Ireland, followed by a 17-5 loss to New Zealand.
The Blitzboks can still make it to the quarterfinals as one of the two best third-placed sides. However, they need to beat Japan on Thursday and hope other results go in their favour.
Meanwhile, Fiji were at their brilliant free-flowing best in a 40-12 demolition of Uruguay.
In their second match, they turned on the style, bamboozling the United States with mesmerising offloads and searing pace to win captivatingly 38-12.
Fiji have won both Olympic golds since rugby was introduced at the 2016 Rio Games but has recently suffered a run of poor form by their high standards.
The Fijians face France next in a mouthwatering clash on Thursday to decide the pool winner.
The hosts booked their place in the knock-out phase Wednesday but struggled to live up to their pre-tournament favourites tag.
A shock 12-12 draw against the United States in their first pool C encounter was followed by a nailbiting 19-12 win over Uruguay that was anything but convincing.
