Australia put the disappointment of their desert reign-ending defeat in Dubai on the opening weekend of the SVNS Series with a gold-wrapped unbeaten run to the Cape Town women’s title.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Isabella Nasser and her team-mates had the upper hand over arch-rivals New Zealand throughout the gold-medal match to lift the trophy as the sun went down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
France claimed a podium place in South Africa for the third tournament in a row, with a thrilling comeback win over USA, after Japan had left it late to beat Canada for the third time in two tournaments and the second time in two days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Player of the final Nasser said afterwards: \u201cWe hurt last week when we lost against the Kiwis. But we put it all out there today and I\u2019m so proud of every single one of the girls. It was a big squad effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A 60m Maddison Levi try \u2014 her 15th of the SVNS Series so far \u2014 early in the second period was the highlight as Australia avenged their final defeat in Dubai with a high-intensity 26-12 victory over New Zealand in the gold-medal match in Cape Town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Heidi Dennis had set the tone with a try in the second minute, benefiting from some ferocious work at the ruck from Madison Ashby. Teagan Levi added a second score for Australia a minute later, and Isabella Nasser on the stroke of halftime to take the score to an astonishing 19-0.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Levi extended Australia\u2019s lead with the second half barely underway. But the Black Ferns weren\u2019t about to give up their Cape Town title without a fight. Kelsey Teneti and Stacey Waaka hit back in two minutes, and Jazmin Felix-Hotham was denied by some never-say-die defence with the seconds ticking down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A clearly delighted Ashby added: \u201cCape Town is one of the best tournaments out there. We spoke about winning the 50-50 moments and we did that out there. Thank you so much, Cape Town!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
France ripped the bronze medal out of USA\u2019s hands on the final play of a thrilling match, with the clock in the red. Aelig Tregouet scored the crucial try after USA conceded crucial late penalties as Les Bleues won 15-12 to claim a podium finish in Cape Town for the third year in a row.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier, Les Bleues had taken an early lead against defending Cape Town champions New Zealand \u2014 but could not stop the Black Ferns Sevens marching into their second final in a row in the new HSBC SVNS Series \u2014 and their ninth straight \u2014 in as many tournaments with a comfortable come-from-behind 19-7 win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the second semi-final, Maddison Levi touched down four times to send Australia into a second final meeting with New Zealand. Heidi Dennis and Bienne Terita also scored as they racked up a ninth win in a row over USA. Levi\u2019s last came in added time at the end of the second half, taking the score to 34-7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
South Africa sent their home fans wild as they came from behind to claim back-to-back titles in a thrilling men’s final 21-19 to sign off the Cape Town leg of the SVNS in dramatic style.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Early in the second half, Argentina looked to have the gold-medal match sewn up to complete a remarkable turnaround after finishing eighth in Dubai. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the Blitzboks hit back with two tries in the last four minutes as the excited crowd ramped up the volume.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking immediately after the final whistle, captain Impi Visser said: \u201cIt was a tough final. We made it a little bit difficult for ourselves. The boys showed massive character [this weekend]. We had some tough games but the boys pulled through.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier, Fiji claimed third with a win over France, and Dubai champions New Zealand claimed fifth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Christie Grobbelaar scored with less than a minute remaining as South Africa sent their home crowd into raptures, coming from behind in a thrilling final.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Argentina looked away and clear after Marcos Moneta had scored his second try of the gold-medal match \u2014 a highlight-reel score that looked like it had ended the game as a competition, after Luciano Gonzalez had powered past two defenders to open the scoring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But they reckoned without the sheer will and refusal to lie down of the hosts. Donavan Dan had kept them in the game, and they gave themselves a chance when tournament debutant Sonwabo Sokoyi raced under the posts after 10 minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
South Africa kept probing and pounding, but it looked like Argentina would hold on, until the ball found its way to Grobbelaar out wide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Player of the match Shilton van Wyk told RugbyPass TV immediately after the match: \u201cTo go back-to-back is something special for us as a team and we just want to say thank you to our supporters who came out to see us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe say to ourselves we have to take it game by game. Whatever comes, we take it, and luckily for us we got five out of five this weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
France\u2019s men\u2019s team could not repeat the heroics of their counterparts in the women\u2019s competition, as they were held at arm\u2019s length by a thoroughly impressive Fiji side, who closed out the game comfortably, winning 26-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier, hosts South Africa held off a concerted French challenge in a thrilling semi-final to reach back-to-back finals in Cape Town. Shilton van Wyk scored twice, while Tristan Leyds and Ryan Oosthuizen weighed in with one apiece en route to a 22-17 victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After their surprise eighth-place in Dubai, Argentina continued their turnaround in form with a 29-21 win over Fiji in the second semi-final. Both Santiago Mare and Santiago Alvarez scored two to make the Pacific Islanders\u2019 late double nothing more than consolation scores.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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