CAPE TOWN, South Africa — South Africa clinched the title at its home rugby sevens tournament for the first time in nine years, overcoming France with a score of 26-14 in the men’s final on Sunday.
Cape Town has previously hosted four women’s tournaments, with New Zealand capturing the title for the third time after defeating the United States, who were making their first appearance in the finals.
The men’s final saw the teams tied at 14 points at halftime, but South Africa pulled ahead as France struggled with penalties and made critical errors under pressure.
A crucial moment came when Dewald Human’s grubber kick bounced into the hands of Shilton van Wyk, allowing him to score in the left corner, with Ricardo Duarttee adding the conversion. Just a minute later, Van Wyk executed a quick tap-and-go play which set up David Brits for another try in the right corner, marking South Africa’s first win in their home event on the world series since 2015.
France had previously knocked out defending champions Fiji in the semifinals and had tries from Celian Pouzelgues and Varian Pasquet at the start and end of the first half. In contrast, South Africa’s Donavan Don crossed the line, followed by Zain Davids, who powered through two French players to score.
In the women’s tournament, the U.S. shocked defending champion Australia in the semifinals with a 24-19 victory, mounting a comeback from a 19-7 deficit, driven by Nia Toliver’s remarkable performance, which included two tries and an assist for a third.
Toliver opened the scoring for the Americans just 25 seconds into the final, followed by Alyssa Porter capitalizing on a New Zealand mistake, giving the U.S. an early 12-0 lead within two minutes.
However, New Zealand soon took control and won the match 26-12. Jorja Miller scored after a stolen throw-in, and Jazmin Felix-Hotham’s converted try put her team ahead 14-12 by halftime.
Kelsey Teneti, after narrowly missing a try moments earlier, managed to score following a five-meter scrum, while Dhys Faleafaga sealed the victory with an overlapping try.
After losing to Australia in the Dubai final the previous weekend, New Zealand now finds itself at the top of the standings.
“We’re going home with some goodies for Christmas,” expressed New Zealand captain Sarah Hirini with a smile.