The injury-ravaged Blitzboks suffered a first-ever loss to Spain to finish in 12th place at the Singapore Sevens, while New Zealand extended their lead on the overall standings with back-to-back tournament wins.

Having lost Shaun Williams, Ricardo Duarttee and Tiaan Pretorius to injury on the opening day of the tournament, the Blitzboks made a promising start to day two in Singapore, with youngster Jaidon Baron scoring a brace in the ninth-place quarter final win against Ireland.

However, it all came crashing down for South Africa in their second game of the day, as Spain held on to claim a 12-5 victory for their first Sevens Series victory against South Africa.

Vamos Ramos! 💪

Juan Ramos’ score was the difference for @ferugby in their historic win over South Africa 🇪🇸 @DHLRugby | #ImpactMoment | #Singapore7s | #HSBC7s pic.twitter.com/KDF96qcCVM

— World Rugby 7s (@WorldRugby7s) April 9, 2023

This condemned the Blitzboks to a 12th-placed finish, their second-worst of the Sevens Series campaign, and gave them just five log points, seeing fall from fifth to seventh on the overall standings.

Needing to finish in the top four to automatically qualify for the Olympic Games, the Blitzboks are now 16 points behind fourth-placed France, with two tournaments to go in the series.

Meanwhile, New Zealand claimed successive tournament wins for the second time this season, with a 19-17 win over Argentina in a thrilling final.

A wonder try which got the Ruby Tui stamp of approval 🙌@nz_sevens are your #Singapore7s champions 🥇#HSBC7s pic.twitter.com/w3lghSD2Zx

— World Rugby 7s (@WorldRugby7s) April 9, 2023

New Zealand are now 24 points clear at the top of the overall standings.

The next Sevens Series tournament will be held in Toulouse, between 12-14 May, before the final tournament of the season in London on 20 and 21 May.