FINAL BOUND: Blitzboks have chance to break HK7s hoodoo against Argentina

The Springbok Sevens side will have a chance to break their only Sevens hoodoo as they take on Argentina in the final of the Hong Kong Sevens at 1.14pm (CAT, GMT+2).

The Blitzboks have never won the Hong Kong Sevens and this side have the chance of erasing that record - the only tournament in Sevens history they have not won on the World circuit - after a powerful performance downed New Zealand 26-14 in the semifinal.

It will be their first appearance in the final of the Hong Kong Sevens for almost 10 years, after they last made the final in 2017, where they were beaten by Fiji 22-0.

But just which Blitzboks side will turn up in the final will be the key to victory.

Argentina beat Spain in the other semifinal, winning a tight contest 19-12, and will be defending the title they won last year at the same stadium.

The Blitzboks may have beaten Argentina 38-0 in their pool game, but the final match will be a lot tighter.

That game was a fight for survival after the Blitzboks lost 31-12 to Spain in their pool game, their worst performance all season.

And while they bounced back with a superb performance against Argentina, they have rode their luck this tournament. They were lucky against Kenya in the quarterfinal, coming back from 22-14 down with less than two minutes to go to score after the hooter and win 26-22 on Saturday.

But there was no such luck needed in the semifinal against a very physical New Zealand side where the Blitzboks lead from start to finish and two late tries made the scoreline look a lot more respectable.

After New Zealand dominated the opening few minutes of the fixture, a turnover in the Blitzboks 22 led to a long-range counter attack, where Sebastian Jobb and Tristan Leyds combined to score at the other end of the field and get the first points on the board.

Roderick Solo took out Selvyn Davids off the ball after he stabbed a grubber kick through, earning him a yellow card for his efforts. With a numerical advantage, the Blitzboks spread the ball from side to side until they finally found space for Jobb to go over in the corner.

At 14-0 up at the break, the Blitzboks pounced early in the second half, stretching the All Blacks for Shilton van Wyk to run in and score and then Ryan Oosthuizen’s try with three minutes left made it 26-0.

New Zealand scored two late tries through Akuila Rokolisoa and Michael Manson but by that time the Blitzboks’ minds were on the final.

And their hopes of breaking a hoodoo that has stood for far too long.