CAPE TOWN - The Springbok Sevens side clinched their first World Series title since 2018 after defeating Great Britain 24-12 on Sunday to win the Edmonton title in Canada.
Due to the pandemic, this series featured only two tournaments instead of 10. Earlier this month, World Rugby also announced the cancellation of the Singapore and Cape Town tournaments.
The Hong Kong Sevens had already been cancelled due to travel restrictions and the Delta variant. The Dubai Sevens is also no longer part of the 2021 Series and will be incorporated into the 2022 circuit.
A host of the world's Sevens heavyweights like Olympic champions Fiji, Australia and New Zealand did not send teams to the event because of travel restrictions.
South Africa were one of the 12 men's teams, with six of those teams having featured at the Olympics.
This team has just won the 2021 World Series. 🇿🇦⚡ pic.twitter.com/Eb9E0PR0BC
— Springbok Sevens (@Blitzboks) September 26, 2021
Last weekend, the Blitzboks also claimed the tournament title in Vancouver.
In the final of the Edmonton event, Muller du Plessis and Siviwe Soyizwapi both bagged a brace to help secure a comfortable victory for the South Africans, who were the runners-up at the last World Series.
Robbie Ferguson and Tom Bowen scored Britain’s tries.
En route to the final, the Blitzboks cruised past Mexico, Hong Kong and Canada to finish top of their pool on Saturday.
When it matters, @SiviweSoyizwapi delivers...@DHLRugby #ImpactMoment pic.twitter.com/8OJA2oVcXY
— World Rugby Sevens (@WorldRugby7s) September 27, 2021
They thumped Mexico 56-0, Hong Kong 43-5 and Canada 49-0 to continue with their impressive form after they returned to the winning podium the previous week by downing Kenya 38-5 in an all-African final.
They reached this weekend’s final thanks to a 33-7 defeat of Kenya in the semi-final, after a 46-0 smashing of Hong Kong in the quarters.
Great Britain finished second in the Series standings, ahead of Kenya, who reached the podium again in Edmonton by overcoming Canada 33-14 to finish in third place. Canada and the USA placed fourth and fifth, respectively, on the 2021 Series standings.
Germany were a pleasant surprise at the Edmonton event as they secured a 24-19 feat over the USA after also beating Great Britain, Jamaica and Hong Kong in earlier games.
AFP