(Photo World Rugby)
South Africa added the SVNS Series Vancouver title to their Perth and Cape Town crowns this season and rocketed to the top of the men’s standings, level on points with Fiji.
The Blitzboks went unbeaten across the weekend to claim their first win in Canada since the Covid-shortened series in Edmonton in 2021
Blitzboks captain Impi Visser’s focus was already switching to next weekend in New York when he spoke on the sidelines immediately after the final. “It’s an amazing feeling,” he said of their win. “Sometimes we take it for granted but it’s an amazing feeling and we’re really grateful for it.
“We’ve had a lot of changes —-six changes from Perth to now and the thing we said we want to build is consistency. I think we’ve shown that through and through. We just need to keep up this momentum going into New York.”
Fiji made it five podium finishes in five HSBC SVNS Series tournaments, beating Australia to claim third, while Argentina — who had won the past four tournaments in Vancouver — recovered from a disappointing day one performance to claim fifth place.
South Africa and Fiji are locked at the top of the men’s standings. They’re level on log points, with Fiji just ahead having scored two match points more across the HSBC SVNS Series to date.
The side that finishes top of the standings heading into the three-tournament World Championship series will be exempt from relegation to HSBC SVNS 2.
South Africa laid down a marker to their rivals as they claimed their third gold medal of the SVNS Series with an emphatic 38-12 win over Spain in a one-way repeat of last year’s Grand Final in Los Angeles.
Spain, in just their third SVNS tournament final, soon learned the scale of the task in front of them, as the Blitzboks screamed into an early lead.
Ryan Oosthuizen got the scoreboard moving early, before Sebastiaan Jobb and Shilton van Wyk each scored before the break.
Jobb got his second and Gino Cupido also scored for South Africa, while Jeremy Trevithick and Anton Legorburu Anso scored for Spain. But captain Impi Visser had the final word with a long-distance touchdown.
South Africa’s march to their seventh final in Vancouver only came after an enthralling semi-final against a determined Australia.
The Blitzboks had conceded only four tries in three matches on day one, but shipped two in 14 minutes, and had Selvyn Davids’ late try to thank for a 19-12 win.
The second semi-final was another thriller. A double for Eduardo Lopez, and tries for Manu Moreno and Anton Legorburu Anso were enough for Spain to spring a shock on Fiji, holding on to win 24-17, and record only their fifth win over the Pacific Islanders in 34 attempts.
In the women’s competition, New Zealand extended their lead over Australia in the SVNS Series standings to eight points after claiming their fourth tournament title in five events this season.
Jorja Miller was the star of the final as New Zealand got the better of perennial SVNS final opponents Australia for the fourth time in five showpiece meetings this season.
Miller scored one and made one in a full-throttle final as the Black Ferns Sevens blitzed Australia off the title to maintain their perfect winning record
Maddison Levi scored two, taking her tournament tally to 10 — she has 40 already this season with the New York leg of the regular SVNS Series to come before the three-tournament World Championships.
Mackenzie Davis then ran under the posts to level the scores with two minutes left on the clock — but then Miller won a penalty and broke again. The ball found its way via Risi Pouri-Lane to Stacey Waaka on the wing.
She could have scored but passed inside to Alena Saili to score closer to the posts. Risi Pouri-Lane converted to take the score to 24-17.
Player-of-the-final Miller said afterwards: “I am so proud of this team, I’m so honoured to wear this black jersey. We’ve had a few girls go down this weekend – it means a lot more to us than just rugby.”
And, on International Women’s Day she remembered who had inspired her. “When I was younger I was looking up to the greats, amazing players like Portia and Sarah Hirini.
“I hope that, as a team, we can inspire young girls and young boys to play rugby.”
USA had made the Black Ferns Sevens work hard to maintain their four-year unbeaten run at BC Place, but Jorja Miller’s double and Mahina Paul’s 12th-minute touchdown were enough to see the four-time tournament champions this season through to the showpiece with a 19-12 win.
Relieved Black Ferns Sevens coach Cory Sweeney paid tribute to USA shortly after the semi-final . “They’re a good side, growing and developing,” he said. “Credit to the girls, they had to find some grit and find a way.”
USA beat France in the third-place play-off to end a nine-tournament wait for a podium finish, while Canada got the home crowd on their feet as they claimed fifth, and Japan claimed seventh at the end of an end-to-end play-off against Great Britain.
