VICTORY South Africa's Blitzboks claimed the 2025 Rugby Sevens World Championship title in Los Angeles with a dominant victories over Spain. Picture: Patrick T. Fallon / AFP
Image: Patrick T Fallon, AFP
The Blitzboks haven’t fired on all cylinders this season, but this past weekend they delivered an outstanding performance that brought them the SVNS World Championship title in Los Angeles.
Defeating Spain 19-5 in the final in the early hours of Monday morning (SA time) at Dignity Health Sports Park, the Springboks Sevens brought the curtain down on a season with ups and downs by claiming the spoils of the final tournament. They took the tough road to the title but won it in style.
Their performance, especially on defence, was reminiscent of the Blitzboks side that dominated the World Series when current head coach Philip Snyman was still the captain. Snyman’s troops showed over the weekend why they shouldn’t be written off even if the season did not entirely go their way looking at results.
On their way to the final, where tries from captain Selvyn Davids, Mfundo Ndhlovu and Ricardo Duarttee sealed the deal, the South Africans also beat New Zealand in the semis. They dismantled the Kiwis with a sterling performance, winning 26-5. In the group stages, league winners Argentina, Olympic champions France, and Great Britain were the victims of the Blitzboks’ top-tier performance.
“This is a very proud feeling. The boys left everything out there on the field,” captain Davids said after claiming the gold medal.
“We showed glimpses of our potential through the season, but it wasn’t consistent. In this tournament, that consistency came through and that is why we made it all the way and played the final and achieved the success.
“This was a shorter format, and we knew there would be no easy games. With the eight teams, we knew that there was only going to be a semi-final. So, the important thing was to stay in the moment and give our best, it didn’t matter if things went well or bad. We just had to focus on the next job at hand.”
Davids’ try in the final was a beauty of a five-pointer that got the team going. They were pinned in their half, with Spain enjoying most of the territory and possession. From a scrum, Davids broke through the defence with two sizzling sidesteps off his left foot to leave defenders grasping for air as they tried to tackle him. He outstripped the defence to race away under the poles.
Ndhlovu’s score was almost as good, with the hot stepper also beating a couple of defenders to run clear from his half. With only six players after a yellow card, Duarttee scored at the death, thanks to some good work in the build-up by Tristan Leyds and Ryan Oosthuizen, to seal the game.
Snyman credited his players for the amazing performance they delivered.
“We brought things together this weekend and it’s great to see things work out for us when the guys play like we know they can,” Snyman said.
“A coach can lay out a plan and the players can buy in on it and follow it. But, certain things on the field you can’t coach. The final showed it, where there was a bit of individual brilliance from players. That makes our group amazing.
“Everyone understands their role in the team. We had a good plan and players who bought in on it.”
According to Snyman, this weekend showed what can happen when the team plays to its full potential.
“I am proud of them. They showed the true colours of the Springbok Sevens.”
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