The Springbok Sevens team were edged 26-19 by a deserving Australia in the HSBC SVNS Valladolid final on Sunday but maintained their overall World Championship lead going into this weekend’s final tournament in Bordeaux.
SA have 38 log points and hold a four-point lead over Argentina (34) in second, with Australia third on 30.
A cancelled try by SA, ruled out by the TMO for a forward pass, would have seen the scores tied at the end of normal play, but it was not to be, and Australia could celebrate their first tournament win of 2026.
The final was a match of two halves. SA started like a house on fire and scored early.
The opening try came from a set move between Selvyn Davids and Shilton van Wyk.
From a scrum, Davids broke wide and Van Wyk came in at an angle to run in untouched.
The conversion was good and the Blitzboks, looking for a sixth consecutive title, look set for that.
From the restart, the Blitzboks won the ball back, and they mixed up another attack, this time with Sebastiaan Jobb finishing after a good run by Ryan Oosthuizen.
Tristan Leyds converted for a 14-0 lead.
However, just like they did on Saturday in their pool match against the Blitzboks, Australia again fought back by taking the SA defence from side to side.
They did not react well, and James Turner scored six minutes into the half.
The conversion cut the Blitzboks’ lead to one score, which came when Van Wyk slipped a tackle, one of 12 missed tackles made by the South Africans, and in a blink, scores were tied at the break.
The second half was all Australia, especially after Leyds was sin-binned for cynical play.
In the two minutes he was off the field, Australia scored twice to race to a 26-14 lead, cleverly outnumbering the tiring SA defence.
Australia then suffered some misfortune when Turner was red-carded with 90 seconds left, and the Blitzboks responded with a try by Gino Cupido to cut the lead to seven points.
With the clock in the red, the Blitzboks thought they scored again to draw level, but the TMO ruled an earlier pass by Cupido going forward and Australia could celebrate.
Earlier on Sunday, the Blitzboks beat Argentina 19-7 in a humdinger of a semifinal, with two late tries by SA pushing them clear of their South American foes, who have now lost six consecutive matches against the men in green and gold.
An opening try by Jobb got the Blitzboks going, and what a finish it was.
They attacked well, first down the left and then down the right flank, where Jobb finished really well, crashing over in the corner, despite having two defenders on his back.
Argentina struck back quickly, with great supporting play getting them over the line and under the Blitzboks’ posts.
The conversion handed them a 7-5 lead which is how it stayed until the break, with a brilliant cover tackle stopping Davids centimetres from the line.
The second half was close again, but some interventions from the Blitzbok bench made all the difference.
Quewin Nortje ran hard and was stopped a metre short before Ricardo Duarttee turned the game on its head.
Oosthuizen stole a lineout throw from Argentina and from the resulting attack, Duarttee stepped past a rash of defenders to score a stunning solo effort.
Oosthuizen then scored on the wing as SA stepped up the gas for a deserved win to progress to the final. — SA Rugby Communications
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