Even though the Springbok Sevens side lost 19-17 to unbeaten France, after taking a 17-7 lead into the break, the margin of the defeat was narrow enough to have South Africa finishing second in the pool.

The Blitzboks do have Uruguay to thank after the South American minnows scored a last-minute try to claim a stunning upset victory over Great Britain.

Tries from Ronald Brown and Impi Visser gave South Africa a dream start to the match and, while France struck back towards the end of the first half, Selvyn Davids dotted down after a powerful run from JC Pretorius to put the Blitzboks into a commanding position at the break.

However, France came out firing in the second half and scored 12 unanswered points, before holding out against a last-gasp Blitzboks attack to claim the victory.

Having finished second in the pool, South Africa have a tough cup quarter-final meeting against old rivals Fiji on Sunday at 05:50.