The Springbok Sevens took sweet revenge on Fiji in Perth on Sunday, beating the HSBC SVNS log leaders 21-19 in a pulsating final at HBF Park to claim their first title on Australian soil since 2017, when they won in Sydney.
The Blitzboks were 14-12 up at the break but conceded the lead to Fiji early in the second half, with last weekend’s Singapore champions leading by five points with four minutes to play.
The second half belonged to the Blitzboks, though. They tackled like demons, and when presented with an attacking opportunity, Ryan Oosthuizen, who opened the scoring early in the match, left four Fijians in his trail as he steamrolled his way to the tryline for a second try of the final.
Ricardo Duarttee kicked the conversion from wide out to hand the lead back to his side. Donavan Don almost scored another, but he was tackled into touch a minute later, after which the Blitzboks did well to keep Fiji pinned in their own half to seal the deal.
Oosthuizen, named player of the final, opened the scoring when patience on defence forced Fiji into a stray pass. Dillyn Leyds took possession and sent the experienced forward off to the tryline for the first points of the match. Duarttee kicked the conversion for a 7-0 lead.
Sebastiaan Jobb scored the second try similarly. Good defence forced Fiji into losing the ball, and from the counter Duarttee found the wing in space. The kick was good, and the lead was 14-0.
Fiji, who beat the Blitzboks in Singapore in extra time and again in pool play on Saturday, coming from behind both times, then scored three unanswered tries to take the lead, but this time Oosthuizen had other plans.
Earlier on Sunday, in the semifinal, the Blitzboks outplayed Australia 28-12 to book their spot in the tournament decider.
Shilton van Wyk opened the scoring against the hosts with a lovely swerve past his man, and Duarttee converted for a 7-0 lead.
The Aussies came back with a well-worked try by their captain, Henry Hutchison, taking the ball through numerous phases, and finally the South African defence ran out of numbers.
Another Aussie attack resulted in a try to Jobb though, as the men in yellow lost possession near the South African tryline, and the Blitzbok speedster was off to the races with an 80m sprint. Duarttee converted for a 14-5 lead at the break.
The Aussies were not done though and responded well early in the second half, when a slipped tackle resulted in a converted try for Ben Dowling to make it a two-point game.
However, the Australians spilt the ball from the restart, and, in a blink, Jobb was under the sticks again for Duarttee to extend the lead to 21-12.
Australia conceded a yellow card from the next restart, and after a good attack the numbers counted and Duarttee scored (and converted) for what proved to be the final scoring act of the match.
Scorers:
South Africa 28 (14), Australia 12 (5)
SA – Tries: Shilton van Wyk, Sebastiaan Jobb (2), Ricardo Duarttee. Conversions: Duarttee (4).
Australia – Tries: Henry Hutchison, Ben Dowling. Conversion: Dowling.
South Africa 21 (14), Fiji 19 (12)
SA – Tries: Ryan Oosthuizen (2), Sebastiaan Jobb. Conversions: Ricardo Duarttee (3).
Fiji – Tries: Viwa Naduvalo, Jeremaia Matana, Terio Veilawa. Conversions: Terio Veilawa, Iowane Teba.
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