The Springbok Sevens team were edged 26-19 by Australia in the HSBC SVNS Valladolid final on Sunday, but maintained their overall World Championship lead going into next weekend’s final tournament in Bordeaux.
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South Africa have 38 log points and hold a four-point lead over Argentina (34) in second, with Australia third on 30.
First tournament win of the season
A cancelled try by South Africa, ruled out by the TMO for a forward pass, would have seen the scores tied at the end of normal play, but it wasn’t to be and Australia could celebrate their first tournament win of 2026.
The final was a match of two halves. South Africa started like a house on fire and scored early. The opening try came from a set move between Selvyn Davids and Shilton van Wyk.
From a scrum, Davids broke wide and Van Wyk came in at an angle to run in untouched. The conversion was good and the Blitzboks, looking for a sixth consecutive title, look set for that.
From the restart, the Blitzboks won the ball back and they mixed up another attack, this time with Sebastiaan Jobb finishing after a good run by Ryan Oosthuizen. Leyds converted for a 14-0 lead.
However, just like they did on Saturday in their pool match against the Blitzboks, Australia again fought back by taking the SA defence from side to side. They did not react well, and James Turner scored six minutes into the half.
The conversion cut the Blitzboks’ lead to one score, which came when Van Wyk slipped a tackle, one of 12 missed made by the South Africans, and in a blink, scores were tied at the break.
The second half was all Australia, especially after Tristan Leyds was sinbinned for cynical play. In the two minutes he was off the field, Australia scored twice to race out to a 26-14 lead, cleverly outnumbering the tiring SA defence.
Australia then suffered some misfortune when Turner was red carded and with 90 seconds left, and the Blitzboks responded with a try by Gino Cupido to cut the lead to seven points.
With the clock in the red, the Blitzboks thought they scored again to draw level, but the TMO ruled an earlier pass by Cupido going forward and Australia could celebrate.
Humdinger of a semi-final
Earlier on Sunday, the Blitzboks beat Argentina by 19-7 in a humdinger of a semi-final, with two late tries by South Africa pushing them clear of their South American foes, who have now lost six consecutive matches against the men in green and gold.
An opening try by Jobb got the Blitzboks going and what a finish it was. They attacked well, first down the left and then down the right flank, where Jobb finished really well, crashing over in the corner, despite having two defenders on his back.
Argentina struck back quickly with great supporting play getting them over the line and under the Blitzboks’ posts. The conversion handed them a 7-5 lead which is how it stayed until the break, with a brilliant cover tackle stopping Selvyn Davids centimetres from the line.
The second half was close again, but some interventions from the Blitzbok bench made all the difference. Quewin Nortje ran hard and was stopped a metre short, before Ricardo Duarttee turned the game on its head.
Ryan Oosthuizen stole a lineout throw from Argentina and from the resulting attack, Duarttee stepped past a rash of defenders to score a stunning solo effort.
Oosthuizen then scored on the wing as South Africa stepped up the gas for a deserved win to progress to the final.
Next weekend in Bordeaux, the final tournament in the World Championship, the Blitzboks are in Pool A with Fiji, Kenya and Great Britain.
Australia, Spain, USA and Uruguay are in Pool B, and Pool C consist of Argentina, New Zealand, France and Germany.
Scorers
Final: South Africa 19-26 Australia
SA – Tries: Shilton van Wyk, Sebastiaan Jobb, Gino Cupido. Conversions: Tristan Leyds (2).
Australia – Tries: James Turner, Ethan Mcfarland, Ben Dowling, Henry Hutchison. Conversions: Maurice Longbottom (3).
Semi-final: South Africa 19-7 Argentina
SA – Tries: Sebastiaan Jobb, Ricardo Duarttee, Ryan Oosthuizen. Conversions: Duarttee (2).
Argentina – Try: Santiago Vera Feld. Conversion: Vera Feld
HSBC SVNS World Championship standings
1. South Africa – 38
2. Argentina – 34
3. Australia – 30
4. Fiji – 26
5. Spain – 26
6. New Zealand – 26
7. France – 14
8. Kenya – 14