The Springbok Sevens finished in a commendable second place at the HSBC SVNS Vancouver at BC Place on Monday morning (SA time) after being edged 19-12 by Argentina in the final of a tournament that delivered some nail-biting but positive results for the Blitzboks.
Earlier, they scored a dramatic 12-10 victory over Fiji in the semi-finals on Sunday evening (SA time) after scoring the winning points with the final play of the match.
The Blitzboks have now finished fifth in Dubai, won in Cape Town, placed fourth in Perth and taken silver in Vancouver, which leave them six points shy of log leaders, Argentina.
The South Americans (68 points), Spain (64 points), South Africa and Fiji (both on 62 points) are moving clear from the rest of the pack, with a gap opening between the top four and France (46 points), Australia and New Zealand (38 points) after four tournaments played.
Hong Kong and Singapore are the two remaining tournaments left in the regular season, before the Grand Finale in Los Angeles.
The Pumas laid the foundation of their victory in the final before the break, scoring the only two tries of the half. South Africa were penalised a couple of times at the breakdown and could not get any momentum, while Argentina were more clinical when in possession and they deserved their 12-0 lead.
When Argentina scored in the opening play from the second half restart to take a 19-0 lead, things looked dire for the men in green and gold. But the Blitzboks’ fighting spirit was not a highlight of their tournament for nothing.
A brilliant solo run by Quewin Nortje got them on the board and going. Nortje beat two defenders on an 80m run to score. When Siviwe Soyizwapi scored his 154th career try from a move he initiated with a great break 10 minutes in, the Blitzboks were just a score away from levelling matters.
They had some opportunities but credit to the 2025 Vancouver champions who held them out for a well-earned win.
The Blitzboks' semi-final win over Fiji was one of the most dramatic of the tournament, in a match that can only be described as frantic.
A red card to Sebastiaan Jobb after only four minutes reduced the South Africans to six players for the remainder of the match. Jobb was sent off for making head contact in a tackle in a move that saw Fijian winger Joji Nasova scoring at the other end of the field.
Fiji held that 5-0 lead into the second half but could not benefit from their extra number, as the Blitzboks worked very hard to keep their defensive line intact.
In fact, it was South Africa who scored next, with Shilton van Wyk finishing off some good work on his inside by Selvyn Davids. The try levelled the scores with five minutes to play.
It seemed that Fiji booked their spot to the final with a try by Jeremaia Matana in the 12th minute but the Blitzboks were not done yet.
An attack that started deep in their own half, finished with a Donavan Don try under the Fijian posts, with Selvyn Davids instrumental in putting Don in space. Tristan Leyds, who instigated the attack with a kick ahead, converted after the buzzer for the dramatic win.
Their overall objectives for the 2025 HSBC SVNS are still in place and despite their second placed finish in Vancouver, Springbok Sevens coach Philip Snyman left BC Place in a good mood.
The Blitzboks fell short of winning the Vancouver title but Snyman said it the wider picture is still rosy with most of their objectives reached on this trip to Canada.
“Make no mistake, it is never nice to lose in a final – you go all the way to put yourself in a position to win the tournament and to then come up short is not part of the plan,” said Snyman.
“But credit to Argentina, who were the better team in that game. They were more clinical than us, especially in that first half and scored the points when it mattered. We came back well but just could not get the win.”
For Snyman, a top four finish in every tournament and expanding his playing depth were stated objectives at the start of the season and those are still firmly in place at the halfway stage of the series.
“We want to reach at least the semi-finals of every tournament and we are at three out of four there, while Sebastiaan Jobb and Zander Reynders got good game time during the tournament, which is great,” he said.
“From that perspective I am more than pleased. The mistakes we made can be fixed and we can tweak one of two things, so we are in a good spot at the moment.”
Snyman was proud of the way the team reacted after Jobb's red card in the semi-final.
“Playing Fiji with seven is already tough enough, so to have only six on the field and coming from behind on the scoreboard to win made me very proud,” said Snyman of the victory, which came from the last play of the match.
“The guys showed what the jersey meant to them by never giving up in that match and working extra hard to compensate for the missing defender. That performance is one I will remember for a long time.”
With the Blitzboks firmly established as a title contender with two rounds left, Snyman has a couple of weeks to prepare his troops for the back-to-back tournaments in Hong Kong (28-30 March) and Singapore (5-6 April). The final stop is the Grand Finale in Los Angeles (3-4 May).
“We are still in with a realistic chance to win the series and that is great but we will still continue with expanding our player depth at those two tournaments,” said Snyman.
“Once back home, the management will have a discussion on our roster for that trip and how we are going to approach it. For now, we are in a good position and mindset. Yes, we lost the final, but we gained in many other areas.”
The Blitzboks arrive back in Cape Town on Wednesday morning.
Scores
Final: South Africa 12 (0), Argentina 19 (12)
South Africa - Tries: Quewin Nortje, Siviwe Soyizwapi. Conversion: Selvyn Davids.
Argentina - Tries: Luciano Gonzalez (2), Tobias Wade. Conversions: Joaquin Pellandini (2).
Semi-final: South Africa 12 (0), Fiji 10 (5)
South Africa - Tries: Shilton van Wyk, Donavan Don. Conversion: Tristan Leyds.
Fiji - Tries: Joji Nasova, Jeremaia Matana.
Standings after four tournaments
1 Argentina - 68 points
2 Spain - 64
3 Fiji - 62
4 South Africa - 62
5 France - 46
6 Australia - 38
7 New Zealand - 38
8 Great Britain - 32
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