The Blitzboks dropped out of the LA Sevens title race and are on the brink of losing their lead in the overall World Rugby Sevens Series at the final tournament following two pool defeats on Saturday.
A 17-14 loss against New Zealand demoted the defending LA and World Series title holders to also rans in 2022.
This came after the Blitzboks suffered an opening 21-7 loss to hosts USA, before bouncing back with a narrow 22-17 win over Canada.
Having already lost key playmakers Selvyn Davids and Ronald Brown to pre-tournament injuries, flyhalf Dewald Human and prop Zain Davids were both injured against the USA and Canada respectively.
The Blitzboks went into their final pool game against New Zealand needing to win by a margin of 12 points or more to get into the Cup quarter-finals.
However, a poor start saw South Africa concede three first-half tries and trail 17-0 at half-time. Needing a 29-0 scoreline in the second half, the Blitzboks launched a brave comeback, but could only get two tries through James Murphy and Shilton van Wyk.
The Blitzboks would have secured the Series title by reaching the Cup final in LA but will now face a nervous wait on Sunday as other results determine their fate.
Australia, Argentina and Fiji, who all progressed to the Cup quarter-finals, can now overtake South Africa on the overall table.
The only way for South Africa to retain the World Sevens Series is for Australia to finish lower than third and for neither Argentina nor Fiji to win the LA Sevens final.
Scorers:
USA 21 (14), South Africa 7 (0)
USA – Tries: David Still, Joe Schroeder, Perry Baker. Conversions: Lucas Lacamp (3).
SA – Try: Sako Makata. Conversion: Shaun Williams.
South Africa 22 (17), Canada 17 (5)
South Africa – Tries: Muller du Plessis, Siviwe Soyizwapi (2), JC Pretorius. Conversion: Darren Adonis.
Canada – Tries: Josiah Morra, Brock Webster, Anton Ngongo. Conversion: Cooper Coats.
New Zealand 17 (17), South Africa 14 (0).
New Zealand – Tries: Akuila Rokolisoa, Che Clarke, Lewis Ormond. Conversion: Rokolisoa.
South Africa – Tries: James Murphy, Shilton van Wyk. Conversions: Branco du Preez, Shaun Wiliams.
Photo: Twitter: @Blitzboks
