The Springbok Sevens team won the HSBC SVNS Cape Town title for the first time in nine years when they defeated France 26-14 in a pulsating final at the Cape Town Stadium on Sunday evening.
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It was the perfect ending to a tournament played in perfect conditions and with more than 75 000 people in attendance over two days in the Mother City, where the Blitzboks won all four their games.
The last time South Africa won their home tournament at the Cape Town Stadium was in December 2015, when they beat Argentina in the final.
The hosts were runners up in 2016 (against England) and 2019 (against New Zealand).
With Springbok captain Siya Kolisi in attendance, the Blitzboks turned the clock back and played their hearts out, scoring four tries to France’s two in the final.
The French scored in the first minute, but the Blitzboks hit back a few minutes later when Donavan Don raced through on a perfect angle from an attacking lineout, to make it 7-7.
From the restart, Impi Visser won the ball back and after a few attacking phases, Zain Davids smashed his way through the French defence, with Ricardo Duarttee’s second conversion giving South Africa a seven point lead.
The French hit back on the stroke of half-time with another converted try and the teams went into the break even on 14-14.
The second half belonged to the Blitzboks though, as Shilton van Wyk scored from a superb Dewald Human grubber before David Brits all but sealed the deal with four minutes to go.
Despite a yellow card to Siviwe Soyizwapi, the Blitzboks held on for victory.
New Zealand win women’s tournament
Meanwhile, in the women’s competition, New Zealand were crowned champions after beating USA in the final, by 26-12.
Next up
The next tournament will be held in Perth in Australia from 24-26 January 2025.
Updated standings after Cape Town Sevens
| Rank | Country | Points |
| 1 | Fiji | 36 |
| 2 | Spain | 32 |
| 3 | France | 30 |
| 4 | South Africa | 30 |
| 5 | Argentina | 28 |
| 6 | New Zealand | 24 |
| 7 | Australia | 12 |
| 8 | Great Britain | 12 |
| 9 | Kenya | 11 |
| 10 | Uruguay | 6 |
| 11 | United States | 4 |
| 12 | Ireland | 3 |
SCORERS:
Blitzboks
Tries: Donavan Don, Zain Davids, Shilton van Wyk, David Brits
Conversions: Ricardo Duarttee (3)
France
Tries: Celian Pouzelgues, Varian Pasquet
Conversions: Stephen Parez Edo Martin, Paulin Riva
Did you attend the Cape Town Sevens this weekend?
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Src: TheSouthAfrican.com - https://rugga.co.za/springboks/updated-standings-after-blitzboks-win-cape-town-sevens-title/
