The Springbok Sevens successfully defended their HSBC SVNS Cape Town title spectacularly, edging Argentina by 21-19 in a hard-fought final on Sunday afternoon.
The teams finished on three tries apiece, but it was a moment of defensive brilliance with time up on the clock that had the crowd of 31,941 on their feet as the Blitzboks became the first team to defend the Cape Town title successfully.
They had to dig deep, though, after Argentina took a 19-7 lead early in the second half, but the Blitzboks did what was necessary and finished the weekend as the only unbeaten men’s team at the DHL Stadium.
Argentina scored first from a midfield scrum.
They sent the ball to the left and Luciano Gonzalez went over, with the conversion giving them a 7-0 lead after two minutes.
The Blitzboks responded two minutes later when Zain Davids intercepted an Argentinian pass inside the South African 22.
They sent the ball wide to Donavan Don who raced away for a try under the sticks, with the score 7-7 after Ricardo Duarttee’s conversion.
A momentary lapse in concentration allowed Argentina their second try, straight from the restart, with Marcos Moneta racing away untouched to put his side 14-7 up.
At this stage, the Blitzboks were guilty of making too many uncharacteristic mistakes which allowed Argentina to keep the pressure up.
From the restart after the break, Moneta scored their third try as he had too much pace for the cover defence to go over in the corner, and give the Pumas a 12-point lead.
But then South African guts came into play with the replacements lifting the tempo.
The Blitzboks spread the ball wide and debutant Nabo Sokoyi stepped his way past a would-be defender to race away from 50m out.
Duarttee’s conversion made it 19-14 with four minutes to go.
It was a bit of an arm-wrestle at this stage and Argentina managed to keep possession, but again the Blitzboks turned the ball over and sent Christie Grobbelaar away for a try under the uprights, with the conversion pushing them into a two-point lead with 30 seconds remaining.
The drama was not over yet as the restart went straight into touch and Argentina had one last chance, but the Blitzboks’ defence was absolutely superb, and after a couple of massive hits, they won a penalty to seal the deal.
Earlier on Sunday, the Blitzboks outscored France by four tries to three for a 22-17 victory in their semifinal that had the crowd on the edge of their seats throughout.
Scorers:
Cup semifinal
Springbok Sevens 22 (17) France 17 (12)
Blitzboks - Tries: Shilton van Wyk (2), Tristan Leyds, Ryan Oosthuizen. Conversion: Ricardo Duarttee.
France - Tries: Jordan Sepho, Josselin Bouhier (2). Conversion: Stephen Parez Edo Martin.
Cup final
Springbok Sevens 21 (7) Argentina 19 (14)
Blitzboks - Tries: Donavan Don, Nabo Sokoyi, Christie Grobbelaar. Conversions: Ricardo Duarttee (3).
Argentina - Tries: Luciano Gonzalez, Marcos Moneta (2). Conversions: Santiago Vera Feld (2). - SA Rugby Communication
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