The South African Students Sevens team had mixed results on the opening day of the World University Championships in Brive, France on Wednesday.
They started off their group B fixtures with a good win over Italy, beating the European side 26-5. Ryan Nell, Andrè Smith, Jamba Ulengo and Joe Seerane scored tries, with Smith converting three of them.
In their second match, against Great Britain, converted tries by Nel and Ulengo gave the South Africans an advantage, but they conceded a couple of tries, with Great Britain winning the match 26-14.
The third match, against Malaysia, proved to be a bit easier for the African team, with the final result 45-19 in their favour.
The team will play Mexico in the final pool match on Thursday and depending on results, should contest the quarter-finals, where the top two teams from pool D (Portugal, Hungary, Chile and Romania) await.