Fiji dominated defending champions New Zealand in the final to claim their third Sevens World Cup title, while Australia held on to win the women’s tournament.
A thrilling conclusion to the three-day Sevens World Cup in Cape Town saw Fiji produce a sevens masterclass to beat New Zealand 29-12.
Fiji were dominant from the outset, taking a 24-5 lead into the break. New Zealand threatened a comeback when Fiji lost a player to the sin bin, but the Pacific Islanders showed their class to clinch the victory.
The women’s final was equally as exciting as Australia held on against a late New Zealand comeback to win 24-22. The game came down to a missed conversion from Tenika Willison two minutes after the fulltime hooter, which would have seen the match go into extra time.
Ireland, who knocked out the Blitzboks out in the quarter-finals, capped their rise in sevens rugby by claiming the bronze medal against Australia, winning 19-14.
South Africa’s Springbok Sevens side beat Samoa 35-5 to seal seventh place in the tournament and give outgoing coach Neil Powell a winning sendoff.
Meanwhile, the Springbok Women’s Sevens team finished 14th out of 16 teams after failing to beat China in the 13th/14th place playoff in the afternoon.
Only Madagascar (15th) and Columbia (16th) finished below the Imbokodo.
Photo: Anton Geyser/Gallo Images
