South Africa Ends Nine-Year Drought in Cape Town Sevens

South Africa Ends Nine-Year Drought in Cape Town Sevens

South Africa ended a nine-year drought of winning a home tournament when they defeated France 26-14 at the DHL Stadium on Sunday to win the Cape Town Sevens which is the second tournament of the World Rugby Sevens World Series. Phil Snyman who took over as the coach was a player in 2015 when South…

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December 9, 2024

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Phil Snyman who took over as the coach was a player in 2015 when South Africa won the tournament hosted in George. He joins a special group of coaches to have won a final as a player and coach. The final pitted two teams that ascended the podium at the 2024 Paris Olympics where France clinched the gold and South Africa the bronze.

So much can happen in two weeks. South Africa surrendered their hold of Dubai Sevens by finishing sixth behind the winners Fiji, Spain, Argentina, New Zealand and France.

Upset menu

In the women’s category, New Zealand rallied from 12-0 down to overcome the USA 26-12. The USA served an upset menu by beating the defending champions Australia 24-19 in the semi-final after topping their pool on the opening day. Australia, who had been tipped to reach the final, finished fourth after losing 14-17 to France in the play-off.

A new format that saw only the top teams qualify for the knock-out semi-final left no room for a second chance. Spain reached their second straight semi-final in the men’s category but lost 12-19 to the eventual champions South Africa.

Touchline conversion

A last minute try by France late in the second half saw the teams tie 17-17 before the conversion by Enahemo Artaud from the touchline sent the Dudai Sevens champions Fiji to the play-off. Fiji turned up the heat to beat Spain 47-12 in their only third meeting in two tournaments.

On an individual level, while Shilton Van Vyk won the player-of-the-final for South Africa, Nia Toliver emerged as a key player for the new-look USA women’s team. She scored the opening try against New Zealand in the final and two against Australia in the semi-final.

After the opening two tournaments, New Zealand head the women’s overall table with 38 points ahead of Australia on 34 and France 32. USA (30) and Great Britain (22) complete the top five. Fiji are top of the men’s category with 36 points, Spain (32), France (30), South Africa (30) and Argentina (28) are next in the pecking order.

The Series take a break before the teams head to Perth for the third tournament at the end of January before landing in Vancouver, Canada.

World Rugby Sevens World Series Cape Town results

Day two results, Women

Cup semi-finals: New Zealand 43 France 0, USA 24 Australia 19; Final: New Zealand 26 USA 12; Play-off: Australia 14 France 17.

Fifth place semi-final: Japan 26 Ireland 22, Canada 27 Great Britain 12.

Ninth place semi-final:China 19 Spain 7, Brazil 19 Fiji 22; Final: China 14 Fiji 12.

11th place play off: Spain 14 Brazil 26.

Cape Town ranking: 1. New Zealand 20, 2, USA. 18, 3. France 16, 4. Australia 14, 5. Canada 12, 6. Japan 10, 7. Great Britain 8, 8. Ireland 6, 9. Fiji 4, 10. China 3, 11. Brazil 2, 12. Spain 1

Ranking after the first two tournaments: 1. New Zealand 38, 2. Australia 34, 3. France 32, 4. USA 30, 5. Great Britain 22, 6. Japan 18, 7. Canada 18, 8. Ireland 16, 9. China 7, 10. Brazil 6, 11. Fiji 4, 12. Spain 3.

Day two results, Men

Cup semi-finals: Spain 12 South Africa 19, France 19 Fiji 17; Final: South Africa 26 France 14; Play-off: Spain 10 Fiji 47.

Fifth place semi-final: Kenya 14 Argentina 26, Great Britain 17 New Zealand 21; Final: Argentina 17 New Zealand 12.

Eighth place play-off: Kenya 32 Great Britain 17.

Ninth place semi-final: Australia 12 Ireland 7, Uruguay 14 USA 26; Final: Australia 19 USA 12.

Eleventh place play-off: Ireland 7 Uruguay 12.

Cape Town ranking. 1. South Africa 20, 2. France 18, 3. Fiji 16, Spain 14, 5. Argentina 12, 6. New Zealand 10, 7. Kenya 8, 8. Great Britain 6,9. Australia 4, 10. USA 3, 11. Uruguay 2, 12. Ireland 1.

Ranking after the first two tournaments

Men: 1. Fiji 36, 2. Spain 32, 3. France 30, 4. South Africa 30, 5. Argentina 28, 6. New Zealand 24, 7. Great Britain 12, 8. Australia 12, 9. Kenya 11, 10. Uruguay 6, 11. USA, 4, 12. Ireland 3.

Day one pool results

Women:

Pool A: Australia, Canada, Brazil

Canada 43 Brazil 17, Australia 45 Brazil 5, Australia 26 Canada 10.

Pool B: New Zealand, Japan, China

Japan 14 China 7, New Zealand 40 China 10, New Zealand 22 Japan 12.

Pool C: France, Ireland, Spain

Ireland 34 Spain 5, France 21 Spain 0, France 15 Ireland 0.

Pool D: Great Britain, USA, Fiji

USA 31 Fiji 0, Great Britain 22 Fiji 5, Great Britain 14 USA 31.

Men:

Pool A: Fiji, Great Britain, Uruguay