The Blitzboks have ended a nine-year wait for Cape Town 7s glory defeating France 26-14 in the Cup final on Sunday evening.
South Africa took an early lead in the World Rugby SVNS Series standings by winning the first tournament of the 2024/25 season with their victory in their home competition.
With Antoine Dupont back playing XVs full-time, inspiring Toulouse to an emphatic victory over Ulster in the Investec Champions Cup, France were unable to continue their rampant form on the sevens circuit after clinching the Olympic Gold.
Instead, it was the hosts who shone, winning their first title under head coach Phillip Snyman’s tutelage since his full-time appointment.
Blitzboks and New Zealand crowned Cape Town champions
While the hosts beat Olympic champions France 26-14 to win a thriller of a men’s final, New Zealand claimed a 26-12 victory over the USA to take the women’s title and lead the SVNS standings.
Springboks captain Siya Kolisi enthusiastically cheered the Blitzboks on from the sidelines in a breathless first-half of the men’s final which ended even at 14-14, as the two sides traded tries. Celian Pouzelgues opened the scoring for Les Bleus before Donavan Don and Zain Davids hit back for South Africa. France had the final say of the half as Varian Pasquet went over in the corner.
Shilton van Wyk then won a foot race to the line, despite the attentions of the French defence and released David Brits to extend the home side’s lead and secure their first SVNS title on home soil since 2015.
Antoine Dupont irrepressible once again as Toulouse begin Champions Cup defence with Ulster rout
As for New Zealand, they came back from two tries down to beat the USA 26-12 in an end-to-end women’s final. It was a huge result for the New Zealanders as they bounced back from their final disappointment in Dubai and take an early lead in the HSBC SVNS standings ahead of the break before Perth hosts the third round in January.
“I think you can see the guys are [already] celebrating. We really wanted this. The guys showed a lot of heart out there – we played for each other,” South Africa men’s co-captain Zain Davids said.
Fellow co-captain Impey Visser added: “It’s just incredible. It’s been nine years since we last won it so it’s great to break the curse and give the people of Cape Town something to really celebrate.
“We knew that we have a special group of players, but we came up a bit short last week in Dubai. Some new guys came in and really stepped up this week. We’re building something really special and once we have that self-belief we can really go to that number one spot.”
South Africa reached the final thanks to a hard-fought 19-12 win over impressive Spain, while France overcame Fiji 19-17 in a nail-biting repeat of the Olympic gold medal match.
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/south-africa-end-nine-year-wait-for-cape-town-7s-glory-beating-antoine-dupont-less-france-in-the-final
