Blitzboks fail to ignite against Kiwis as Hong Kong hoodoo strikes again

The result saw them miss out on the top-eight playoffs for the first time this season, with Hong Kong - an event they have consistently underperformed at - proving to be their undoing once again.

The defeat to the Kiwi side meant they only finished third and their pool, relegating them to the 9th-12th playoffs.

They will now vie for ninth place with Kenya at 06h00 (SA time) on Sunday after beating Uruguay 33-7 in their first playoff match.

After losing to Australia on Friday, the Blitzboks needed at least a losing bonus point in their final Pool B match against the men in black but were dominated at the breakdown and on the backfoot all match and never looked comfortable.

The opening stanza against New Zealand was even, but the clinical touch was missing from the South Africans early on already. They twice spurned try-scoring opportunities, something the Kiwis did not do. Two opportunities on attack yielded two converted tries and at the break, the Blitzboks trailed by 12.

The second half did bring a bit more urgency on attack, but too often ball carriers and first arrivals were smashed at the breakdown, resulting in turn-over ball.

Any hopes of a comeback were dashed with four minutes to play when Amanaki Nicole brushed off a meek Ricardo Duarttee tackle, with the third Kiwi try giving them a 17-0 lead.

A try on the buzzer, scored and converted by Donavan Don, was too little too late.

The SA side recovered from yet another failed Hong Kong trophy effort by beating Uruguay comfortably. The match played out pretty much like their pool encounter on Friday, won 40-7 by South Africa.

Gino Cupido, who scored his debut try in that match, got a double this time, while Impi Visser and Shilton van Wyk closed out long range efforts after Uruguay spilled the ball while on attack. The South Americans did get break the green line late in the second half but were again outplayed by South Africa.