South Africa won a sevens tournament on home soil for the first time since 2015 after beating France 26-14 at Cape Town Stadium in the Mother City on Sunday evening.
Cheered on by a boisterous stadium and Springbok captain Siya Kolisi, the Blitzboks did not disappoint as they secured their first tournament win of the new Sevens Series season.
The Olympic champions made a quick start when after working the ball out wide, Celian Pouzelgues crossed the try line to open the scoring.
The @Blitzboks are ready for battle in the #HSBCSVNSCPT Men's Cup Final 🇿🇦🆚🇫🇷
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) December 8, 2024
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France's lead didn't last long as the Blitzboks' Donovan Don sliced through the opponents' defence to score under the post.
And seconds later, big Zane Davids barrelled through the French to put South Africa 12-7 up. Ricardoi Duarttee put the conversion over to make the score 14-7.
On the strong of half time, Varian Pasquet scored for Les Bleus. And with Paulin Riva converting, the scores were level at 14-all going into the break.
Immediately after the break, Shilton van Wyk put South Africa ahead once again after being played through by a grubber by Dewald Human. Van Wyk then turned from scorer to provider when he put David Brits away to score in the corner to give the home side a comfortable lead with time running out.
Shilton van Wyk brings the crowd (including Siya 😏) to their feet in Cape Town 😤👊
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) December 8, 2024
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Despite finishing the match with Siviwe Soyizwapi in the sin bin, the men in green were able to hold on for a famous victory under the Mother City lights.
The win sees South Africa moving up to third place in the Sevens men's series standings after two tournaments.
Earlier in the day, New Zealand beat the United States 26-12 to win the women's competition.
Point scorers
Blitzboks 26 – Tries: Donavan Don, Zain Davids, Shilton van Wyk, David Brits. Conversions: Ricardo Duarttee (3).
France 14– Tries: Celian Pouzelgues, Varian Pasquet. Conversions: Stephen Parez Edo Martin, Paulin Riva.
IOL Sport