BlitzBokke are kings of the desert
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South Africa have won the Dubai Sevens Cup final, defeating Australia 33-7 in a clinical display, with Albertus Smith putting in a commanding performance in attack and defence.
End to end rugby was the feature of the early exchanges with neither side able to break up the opposition defence. It was South Africa's three-try semifinal hero Smith who posted first points with a strong bust down the right.
Australia hit back right on half time spreading the ball wide to Pama Fau, levelling at 7-all going into the break.
Unlike the first half it was only a matter of seconds before the scoreboard ticked over again, Philip Snyman diving low beside the posts for the Springboks second.
Sam Myers had a chance to level the score for Australia but was held up over the line by Smith in a last ditch show of strength.
Seabelo Senatla then put on the after burners to chase down a kick and score to extend South Africa's lead to 21-7. Senatala's second and a Ruhan Nel five pointer sealed the win.
"We didn't play our best in Australia but this was a fantastic event for us," South African captain Kyle Brown said.
"We've worked hard on our defence all day and this means a lot to all of us. We'll enjoy tonight for sure!"
After clinching fourth place at the Gold Coast in October, the Blitzbokke are now just two points behind Fiji who leads the standings on 39 points.
The teams now head to South Africa for Round three of the World Series next weekend at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth.
South Africa are the defending Nelson Mandela Bay Sevens champions.
The Springbok Sevens conceded a paltry seven points on match day two while collecting 101 points against Argentina, Series champions New Zealand and a resurgent Australia.
Earlier, South Africa produced a dominant 28-0 win over defending series champions New Zealand to book a place in the Cup final.
Everything Smith touched turned to points in the firsthalf as he locked away a hat-trick giving South Africa a 21-0 lead, with Cecil Afrika putting the icing on the cake for Neil Powell's charges with a breakaway try with two minutes remaining.
Australia had pulled off the upset of the tournament on their way to the Cup final defeating defending champions Fiji 29-24 in extra time, Greg Jeloudev scoring the winning try in the corner as round two of the HSBC Sevens World Series continued.
Meanwhile, Fiji beat New Zealand 26-12 in the play off for third place.
Plate Final:
Argentina came from behind to defeat Scotland 26-12 in an entertaining Plate final.
After a closely contested start it took a clever Colin Gregor crossfield kick to break the shackles for Scotland, the ball ending up in Mark Robertson's hands for the first try.
Scott Wight followed up with a five-pointer of his own and Scotland led by 12 before Patricio Fernandez broke through for Argentina on the stroke of half time reducing the margin to 12-7.
Argentina were first to strike in the second stanza with Segundo Tuculet picking up a double putting his side ahead 21-12. Alex Muller closed out the win for Argentina with the final try on the siren
Earlier, Argentina beat Simon Amors injury-depleted England 21-19. A Tom Bowen first half brace set up a 12-7 lead for England at the break. But Argentina were not to be denied posting tries through Santiago Alvarez and Gaston Revol to steal the win.
Scotland's Colin Gregor added two tries to his impressive tournament points tally on the way to booking a berth in the Plate final as his side defeated Wales 31-7.
An opportunistic try from Scott Riddell had the Scots up 14-0 at the break before outscoring Wales three tries to one in the second stanza.
Bowl Final:
Samoa came from 14-0 down to defeat France 31-21 in the Bowl final.
France looked to be in control early with tries to Julien Candelon and Julien Saubade. Samoa hit back with Reupena Levasa and Tom Iosefo tries to level the score at 14-all before France scored on halftime for a 21-14 lead.
Three unanswered tries in the second half, including Levasa's second, powered the Pacific islanders home.
Earlier, Samoa scored three tries to two, including a double from Siaosi Asofolau 's in their 19-14 semifinal win over Portugal, while France defeated the USA 24-15.
Two tries apiece to Terry Bouhraoua and Julien Saubade the highlight of an entertaining fixture.
USA's Carlin Isles showcased his speed yet again with a stunning five-pointer down the right wing evading a hard chasing Bouhraoua along the way.
Shield Final:
Canada defeated Kenya 19-12 in the Shield final scoring three tries to two, including a double by Justin Douglas. Andrew Amonde and Leonard Mugaisi crossed for Kenya.
"It's a positive finish for the guys. It's been a bit of a rollercoaster ride for us this weekend," said Canada coach Liam Middleton.
"A few of our technical aspects need to improve for next week. We're a couple of guys down but that will provide a good opportunity for some other members of the squad.”
Earlier, Canada advanced to the final after defeating Japan 29-14.
Sean Duke bagged a double in the win to become Canada's leading all-time pointscorer overtaking Dave Moonlight while Kenya beat Brazil 22-7 in the other Cup semifinal to earn their place.
Standings after two rounds:
1 Fiji – 39
2 South Africa – 37
3Australia – 29
4 New Zealand – 28
5 Samoa – 27
6 England – 27
7 Argentina – 25
8 Wales – 20
9 Scotland – 17
10 France – 14
11 USA – 13
12 Portugal – 10
13 Canada -6
14 Kenya – 4
15 Japan – 2
16 Brazil – 1
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