Ryan Oosthuizen has lifted HSBC SVNS trophies across the globe, but the first one in Australia certainly ranks among the best, not because of his Player of the Final performance in Perth on Sunday, but because the Springbok Sevens held themselves accountable to play according to their standards.
The experienced Blitzbok forward delivered an outstanding performance in the final in Perth, where South Africa edged Fiji 21-19 to win their second tournament in the 2026 series, following their win in Cape Town in December.
“The Cape Town victory was the best ever for me in the 15 tournaments where I was part of the winning squad, but this effort in Perth comes very close and will rank among the top five,” Oosthuizen said after the pulsating match at HBF Park, in which he scored two tries.
“We came here frustrated and unhappy because of how we played in Singapore, where individual errors ruined the system structure.
“We had honest conversations and everyone realised that we were our own worst enemy in Singapore. If we fixed that, we would be very competitive and that was proved out there today in the matches against Australia and Fiji.”
The 30-year-old, who played in his 60th world series tournament, praised his team for stepping up when it mattered most, admitting that the two defeats against Fiji – in pool play in Singapore and Perth – created frustration for him. And that he made the final personal.
“We have set out to build the best sevens team and system in the world, and I believe we are going in the right direction,” he said.
“We know what our standards should be to be able to deliver on our goals, and in those two defeats to Fiji, we did not play according to that.
“Make no mistake, the nature of this series is such that anyone can beat anyone on the day, but for us, it comes down to effort and execution. When we are on song, we can beat Fiji by 20, hence the frustration to drop two close defeats to them prior to the final.
“There were also some off the ball stuff in those two matches, so yes, we had a point to prove in the final. And we did. We put some respect back in the jersey and that is most pleasing.”
The Blitzboks will return to Cape Town via Singapore on Tuesday morning and Oosthuizen said they will enjoy the short break before the next two destinations await, Vancouver and New York, where the 2026 series will close before three World Championship tournaments in Hong Kong, Valladolid and Bordeaux.
“We worked very hard in pre-season and this win, along with the one in Cape Town, gives us good reward for those hours we toiled away,” said Oosthuizen.
“I am looking forward to getting home and spending some time with the loved ones, but then we will get back to work. The job is not done.”
© SA Rugby