PARIS SEVENS: BlitzBoks win World Series after dramatic Final day
DAY TWO WRAP: South Africa dramatically retained their overall World Sevens Series title by beating England in the final of the last of 10 tournaments on Sunday.
The BlitzBoks’ 24-14 victory in Paris ensured they overhauled Fiji in the overall standings by 182 to 180 points.
It was only their second tournament victory out of 10 in the 2017/18 season compared to Fiji’s five – including the last four in a row – but South Africa’s consistency in reaching at least the semifinals of every event proved decisive.
🏆 Trophy lift: Back to back champions. @Blitzboks are your HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2018 Winners pic.twitter.com/R4s7XrCAey
— World Rugby Sevens (@WorldRugby7s) June 10, 2018
England’s 19-17 victory over Fiji in the quarterfinals – thanks to a stunning winning try at the end of a 26-pass move – was crucial despite the Pacific Islanders bouncing back to claim fifth place with a 28-7 win over the United States.
In the final Werner Kok opened the scoring for the Boks before the English went ahead through scores from Oliver Lindsay-Hague and Dan Norton.
A Ryan Oosthuizen try levelled matters at 14-14 before Dewald Human got South Africa’s third and a Justin Geduld penalty secured the win.
Earlier in the day, South Africa edged past Spain 15-10 in the quarterfinal with a try in the fifth minute of overtime by Justin Geduld, after the scores were tied 10-10 at the end of regular time. The Blitzboks then found their stride in the semifinal with a comprehensive 24-12 victory over New Zealand thanks to a pair of tries from the impressive 23-year-old Human who only made his debut two months ago in Hong Kong.
Human, who was again in try-scoring form in the final, was delighted to be voted Player of the Final: “It’s been a fantastic experience here in Paris. I backed myself and just enjoyed every minute on the field. We stuck to the game plan and are very happy with the win.”
Your @HSBC_Sport Player of the Final in Paris, it’s Dewald Human of @Blitzboks pic.twitter.com/HTQCKr9Nhm
— World Rugby Sevens (@WorldRugby7s) June 10, 2018
South Africa captain Philip Snyman added: “We wanted to go out and play some fantastic rugby and focus on what we could control. The guys played phenomenal rugby and all credit to the team. We just did the simple stuff and played with smiles on our faces today. It’s an amazing feeling representing such an amazing country and the people back home never stopped believing in us and supporting us.”
The final standings in the #HSBC7s
🇿🇦 @Blitzboks – 182
🇫🇯 @fijirugby – 180
🇳🇿 @nz7s – 150 pic.twitter.com/v9Ubijahur— World Rugby Sevens (@WorldRugby7s) June 10, 2018
CHAMPIONS! @Blitzboks have won the #Paris7s, beating @EnglandRugby 24-14 , and in doing so are the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series Champions for 2018! pic.twitter.com/3LzqFGimz2
— World Rugby Sevens (@WorldRugby7s) June 10, 2018
Day Two Results:
Cup Final:
England 14-24 South Africa
Bronze Final:
Canada 5-38 New Zealand
Fifth place play-off:
Fiji 28-7 USA
Challenge Trophy Final:
Argentina 33-26 Wales
Thirteenth Place play-off:
Kenya 21-20 Scotland
Cup semifinals:
New Zealand 12-24 South Africa
England 26-12 Canada
Fifth place semifinals:
USA 28-7 Spain
Fiji 38-5 Ireland
Challenge Trophy semifinals:
Argentina 24-19 Australia
France 26-28 Wales
Thirteenth place semifinals:
Samoa 19-24 Scotland
Kenya 26-14 Russia
Cup quarterfinals:
South Africa 15-10 Spain
USA 7-33 New Zealand
Ireland 5-19 Canada
Fiji 17-19 England
Challenge Trophy quarterfinals:
Scotland 5-28 Wales
France 19-7 Samoa
Australia 14-5 Russia
Kenya 12-19 Argentina
🎥 Bench Reaction: What a moment, @Blitzboks are you HSBC Paris Sevens winners and your HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2018 Champions #Paris7s pic.twitter.com/dGEMPrGN13
— World Rugby Sevens (@WorldRugby7s) June 10, 2018
@WorldRugby7s, AFP & @rugby365com
