The Springbok Sevens side produced a magical performance in the Cape Town Sevens final, downing France 26-14 to win their first home final in nine years on Sunday night.
For the Blitzboks it capped a magical weekend where they survived the extra jeopardy of a flawed tournament structure to power their way through every challenge and produce some of the finest rugby seen in a Green and Gold Sevens jersey.
This was the first time they had been in a final since 2020 and the first time they had won their home tournament since 2015, stopping a run of disappointment that stretched on way too long.
Scenes at the final whistle as the @Blitzboks end a nine-year wait to win at home 🏠🏆#HSBCSVNS | #HSBCSVNSCPT pic.twitter.com/Y8QbsJjWl8
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) December 8, 2024
For coach Philip Snyman this was another cog in the rebuilding of the Blitzboks brand, which had suffered after two very poor seasons and slowly is proving again how the values that made the team so strong in past seasons are still vitally important now.
Snyman’s rescue job not only got the Blitzboks to the Olympics via the back door last season, but also won them a bronze in the Paris spectacular, losing to eventual champions France in the semifinal.
Perhaps then it was fitting that it was a French team that would have to bow the knee in Cape Town to see the Blitzboks take the podium again.
The French, who were probably the most impressive side other than the hosts in Cape Town, beat New Zealand by almost 50 points on Saturday and took Fiji out in a pulsating semifinal, but were never a match for the passion and pride of the Blitzboks in the final.
The victory lifts the Blitzboks into third spot in the HSBC World SVNS Series standings, level with the French on 30 points, two behind Series surprises Spain and six behind the Fijians, who won in Dubai and made the semis in Cape Town.
SA SPEEDSTERS UP THE ANTE
But on a weekend where the home side saw off the challenges of Ireland and Argentina in their pool, and a plucky Spanish side in the semi, the final was a perfect synopsis of hard work and playing the moment in style.
Even when French forward Celian Pouzelgues went over early on, it didn’t rattle the team.
They stood up from the first-minute try and dusted themselves off, knowing their time would come.
Their first attack made metres upfield, but exploded into action when spread wide to former SA under-20 star Donavan Don, who slipped through a hole and put the afterburners on to level the scores.
But the bigger blow was the next minute, where the Boks scored back to back, this time taking the kickoff, with David Brits making metres before captain Zain Davids went route one, bumping off a defender before powering over the line.
MOVE OUT THE WAY 😤🔥
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) December 8, 2024
Zain Davids is here! 👟#HSBCSVNS | #HSBCSVNSCPT pic.twitter.com/AlrcUmfrAK
France hit back with a series of plays that led to Varian Pasquet going over in a team move, evening the scores and sending the match into the halftime break evenly poised.
As in the other games, it was the introduction of the speedsters in the second half that upped the ante.
Shilton van Wyk, who had an exceptional tournament, again was on song with Dewald Human in superb playmaker form.
The Blitzboks took control when Human, using the boot, grubbered through for a flying Van Wyk, whose speed was exceptional to outstrip everybody and collect to score.
The Player of the Match in the #HSBCSVNSCPT 🙌
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) December 8, 2024
Shilton van Wyk was unstoppable for the @Blitzboks this weekend 🔥🔥#HSBCSVNS pic.twitter.com/KWjtQD4Qit
With France increasingly desperate, some quick thinking from Van Wyk, taking a tap penalty and bursting through, was the telling moment, sending the ball wide to David Brits who went airborne to cross the line and score the winning try.
France tried desperately but with a partisan crowd at their back, this Blitzboks side was not going to be beaten.
Even when they lost Shakes Soyizwapi to a yellow with two minutes to go, they found that extra leg to stop the French attack, and then went on to celebrate.
Snyman will be the first to remind everyone that this is only one tournament, but the significance of winning at home, breaking their own duck and restoring pride in a team that has been through so much in the past 24 months, is something else.
And as the Mother City celebrated on Sunday night, there is hope that this could be the start of something special for this side.