Cape Town — The Springbok Sevens need a miracle at Twickenham this weekend to qualify automatically for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
While there's still an outside chance of them claiming a spot among the top four of the World Rugby Sevens Series, you could be excused for thinking that they won't make it after their performance at the Toulouse Sevens this past weekend.
The Blitzboks, currently seventh in the standings with 116 points, will have to get at least 10 points more than Australia (currently on 125) from the tournament.
All Australia has to do is make sure they end in sixth place or better at Twickenham to secure their spot above the South Africans. Samoa, tied on 116 with the Blitzboks, can also still throw a spanner in the works in London.
Despite the mountain that awaits the SA Sevens, their coach Sandile Ngcobo still believes they can end on a high note.
Argentina and Fiji secured their top four place and automatic qualification in Toulouse, while France, the host nation, also qualifies automatically. So one spot remains that can be taken by one of the three teams.
"The season is not over for us, so there is still an opportunity to improve, and we are keen to grab it," Ngcobo said in a statement ahead of the final tournament at Twickenham this weekend.
"I felt we did not quite get the rewards at times. We had two weeks of good preparation in Stellenbosch, and the five players coming back into the team integrated well.
"That showed in this tournament, as the guys came back into those high-profile matches and, at times, did well. There was frustration, especially in the first game on the opening day when we did not play well at all, but day two started well before we disappointed ourselves against Argentina."
The Blitzboks started Toulouse with a loss to hosts France but fought back well to topple Fiji and the US. In the quarter-final, they lost to Argentina which hampered their hopes of hauling in the Aussies.
To smother their chances even more, they lost the fifth-pace semi-final against the Australians, who widened the gap between them and the Blitzboks by taking the overall fifth place.
World Sevens Series standings:
1. New Zealand – 186 points
2. Argentina – 159
3. France – 139
4. Fiji – 138
5. Australia – 125
6. Samoa – 116
7. South Africa – 116
8. Ireland – 104
IOL Sport