The Blitzboks powered their way to a 19-12 win over archrivals Fiji to clinch the USA Sevens title.
South Africa have now won four tournaments out of five in this World Rugby Sevens Series, and extended their already considerable advantage at the summit of the standings to 24 points.
Just as importantly, though, they proved that they can still survive and thrive in the absence of superstar Seabelo Senatla, while having also lost key playmaker Justin Geduld to injury earlier on in the tournament.
Fiji scored early through Masivesi Dakuwaqa in the final, played during the early hours of Monday morning (SA time), but they then let the Blitzboks right back in as they conceded a yellow card, with Cecil Afrika dotting down under the posts.
That try enabled the Springbok Sevens to take a 7-5 lead into half-time, and they then made the perfect start to the second period when Rosco Speckman created a try for Chris Dry that helped open up a nine-point buffer.
With three minutes remaining, Speckman then showed a clean pair of heels to dart away and score what effectively became the match-winning try, and while Fiji did manage to score late in the game, it was too little too late.
Photo: David Becker/AFP Photo
