The win tightened the race for the overall series title, leaving South Africa level with Fiji at the top of the standings on 86 log points. Fiji remains narrowly ahead due to a superior points differential of +201 compared to the Blitzboks’ +199. 

With one tournament left in the regular season – set to take place in New York this weekend – the two sides will battle it out for the overall crown. South Africa booked their place in the final with a 19–12 win over Australia in Sunday evening’s semi-final, while Spain advanced after a surprise 24–17 victory against Fiji.

The final, however, quickly turned into a one-sided contest as the Blitzboks raced into a 17–0 halftime lead. Ryan Oosthuizen opened the scoring after a quick tap penalty sparked an attack from deep inside South Africa’s half, repeating his feat from the Perth final last month by scoring the first try of the match.

Ryan Oosthuizen and Ronald Brown. Photo: SA Rugby

South Africa’s well-organised defensive system unsettled Spain, forcing errors as they tried to relieve pressure with ambitious passing. Those mistakes proved costly as turnovers led to further tries by Sebastiaan Jobb and Shilton van Wyk.

Jobb finished off a pinpoint pass from Tristan Leyds, while Van Wyk chased down a well-weighted grubber from Leyds after the Blitzboks stole a Spanish lineout. Leyds’ influential performance earned him the Player of the Final award.

The Blitzboks continued their dominance in the second half, with Van Wyk crossing for his second try shortly after the restart following another Spanish error deep in their own territory.

Spain eventually broke through when Jeremy Trevithick sprinted clear of the defence, but South Africa responded immediately. From the restart, Gino Cupido ran onto a pass from Jobb to score, with the conversion effectively sealing the result.

Spain added a late try, but the final word belonged to Blitzbok captain Impi Visser, who intercepted a loose pass and raced 50 metres to score and wrap up an impressive victory.

Earlier in the day, the Blitzboks had to fight back against Australia in the semi-final. Ronald Brown opened the scoring after a clever attacking move, but Australia struck twice to take a 12–7 lead into halftime.

Tristan Leyds. Photo: SA Rugby

South Africa’s bench proved decisive in the second half. David Brits finished in the corner after a determined run down the touchline, with Leyds converting to edge the Blitzboks ahead. A crucial turnover by Visser then set up Selvyn Davids to score the decisive try and secure the 19–12 win.

Following the Blitzboks' win in Vancouver, coach Philip Snyman was thrilled with the gradual improvement his team showed during the tournament in the lead-up to the grand finale.

“We really improved game by game, and in the final the guys were very clinical and delivered one of the best performances I have seen by the Springbok Sevens in a long time,” Snyman said.

“Our search for consistency is very important in our vision to become the best sevens system in the world, and that starts at home. We aim to bring consistency into our training sessions as well, because that will flow over to tournaments, and I am happy to see that happened here in Vancouver.

“We are not perfect yet, but that is okay. I told the players they should not be scared to make mistakes, as long as it is aggressive mistakes, and this weekend, I cannot fault the effort or performance the players put on the field.”

Scorers:

Semi-final:

South Africa: Tries – Ronald Brown, David Brits, Selvyn Davids. Conv. – Brown, Tristan Leyds.
Australia: Tries – Aden Ekanayake 2. Conv. – Dietrich Roache.

Final:

South Africa: Tries – Ryan Oosthuizen, Sebastiaan Jobb, Shilton van Wyk 2, Gino Cupido, Impi Visser. Conv. – Ronald Brown 2, Dewald Human 2.

Spain: Tries – Jeremy Trevithick, Anton Legorburu Anso. Conv. – Juan Martinez.

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek sm