BlitzBoks finally book their Paris ticket

REPECHAGE WRAP: It required nine months of hard work – with many ups and downs – but South Africa finally booked their place in the Paris Olympic Sevens.

Since being knocked out of the Africa qualifier in September last year, the BlitzBoks had mixed results.

However, in Monaco on Sunday they started to show glimpses of a team that won the World Series and a bronze medal at the Olympics.

South Africa beat Great Britain 14-5 in a tense Final to claim the final qualification spot at the Paris Olympics as they won gold at the World Rugby Sevens Repechage in Monaco.

In a game where all the points were scored in the first half, the BlitzBoks were resolute in defence, holding out a late Great Britain onslaught to book their place on the plane to Paris.

Canada and Spain also missed out after falling at the semifinal stage, but Spain finished the weekend with some pride as they won 31-14 in the bronze final.

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The Blitzboks take the first score thanks to some Selvyn Davids excellence! 🎯#SevensRepechage pic.twitter.com/miAtfySWmb

— Rugby Sevens (@SVNSSeries) June 23, 2024

Final: South Africa holds off Great Britain

Quewin Nortje opened the scoring after just two minutes for South Africa after a well-executed cross-field kick, but Great Britain soon piled the pressure back on their opponents.

The BlitzBok defence was fierce, but ultimately could not hold out the finish from Robbie Fergusson in the right corner.

Great Britain hit the ball back in play of their kick-off, but it worked against their favour, the ball finding Shilton Van Wyk at full pace to take South Africa 14-5 ahead at the break.

Great Britain looked to attack out of their half but a breakdown turnover from Tristan Leyds stunted their progress and were forced to defend again, but Charlton Kerr stepped up to match Leyds’ steal with the BlitzBoks edging closer to the line.

Great Britain won a penalty with just over a minute and opted for a scrum, and with two scores needed the attack needed to be quick.

However, Great Britain knocked the ball on, and South Africa booked their place in Paris.

Shilton Van Wyk puts the Boks further ahead just before the break! 🤯#SevensRepechage pic.twitter.com/8uLkeCnTns

— Rugby Sevens (@SVNSSeries) June 23, 2024

“It’s a pretty special group we have here, just to cherish the moment is what we’re living for,” said Tristan Leyds after the game.

“There was a lot of external pressure, the people back home get disappointed [when we don’t perform], but we kept the group tight and it paid off, we qualified for Paris.

“To the people back home, thank you for supporting us and believing in us, we are going to take this energy to Paris.”

“We have some pretty special youngsters in our team, they made us proud this week,” added Rosko Specman.

“[The Olympics] is the biggest sporting event in the world. It’s pretty special to play in an Olympics.”

Semifinals: South Africa and Great Britain into Final

Selvyn Davids got the first score of the game from 60 metres out, pacing away from Canada’s defence. A high shot from Christie Grobbelaar saw them go down to six soon after, but rather than Canada taking advantage it was the BlitzBoks who advanced their lead as Tristan Leyds went under the sticks. They almost grabbed a third before the break, but Quewin Nortje spilt the ball out wide.

Davids got his second after the break, and with the buzzer in sight, Rosko Specman scored a fourth under the posts to give South Africa a 26-0 win and a shot at the Olympics.

Max McFarland got Great Britain underway against Spain as he used his searing pace down the right for the opening score. Alex Davis got another a minute later despite an impressive defensive effort from Enrique Bolinches that almost held him up over the line. Spain got their first 22-metre entry with a second to go in the half, Bolinches once again the man in the middle of the action as he went over out wide.

Great Britain still held a 10-5 lead but Spain was the team putting the pressure on in the second half, Great Britain needing Harry Glover to hold Bolinches over the line to hold on to their lead. At the other end, it was Glover again, dummying and finding his way over the line to take Great Britain 17-5 ahead with less than a minute to go. Spain finished the game off with a try to bring the scores to 17-12, but it was Great Britain who won their fifth of the weekend to face South Africa in the final.

All Sunday’s results

Men

Cup Final
South Africa 14-5 Great Britain

Third-place play-off
Canada 14-31 Spain

Cup semifinals
South Africa 28-0 Canada
Great Britain 17-12 Spain

Cup quarterfinals
South Africa 26-0 Uganda
Great Britain 33-0 Tonga
Spain 26-5 Hong Kong China
Canada 24-19 Chile

Women

Cup Final
China 24-7 Kenya

Third-place play-off
Poland 33-14 Czechia

Cup semifinals
China 40-7 Poland
Czechia 10-12 Kenya

Cup quarterfinals
China 31-0 Paraguay
Uganda 0-22 Czechia
Kenya 15-12 Argentina
Poland 36-0 Hong Kong China