South Africa WIN World Rugby Seven’s Series Title in Dramatic Paris Finale

PARIS, France, June 10, 2018 – The World Rugby Seven’s Series title was decided in dramatic fashion after South Africa beat England 24-14 in the final of the Paris Sevens to clinch the gold medal and retain their series title.

In one of the most competitive years in the history of the series, the title went down to the very last match as South Africa required a tournament victory to overtake Fiji in the series standings.

South Africa finished the series on top with 182 points, followed by Fiji who took silver with 180 points and New Zealand in third on 150 positions after claiming the bronze medal in Paris with a 38-5 victory over Canada in the third-place play-off.

South Africa – who were last year’s series champions – edged past Spain 15-10 in the quarter-final with a try in the fifth minute of overtime by Justin Deguld, after the scores were tied 10-10 at the end of regular time.

The South African Blitzboks then found their stride in the semi-final with a comprehensive 24-12 victory over New Zealand thanks to a pair of tries from the impressive 23-year-old Dewald Human who only made his debut two months ago in Hong Kong.

Human was again in try scoring form in the final and was delighted to be voted Player of the Final: “It’s been a fantastic experience here in Paris. I backed myself and just enjoyed every minute on the field. We stuck to the game plan and are very happy with the win.”

South Africa captain Philip Snyman added: “We wanted to go out and play some fantastic rugby and focus on what we could control. The guys played phenomenal rugby and all credit to the team. We just did the simple stuff and played with smiles on our faces today.

“It’s an amazing feeling representing such an amazing country and the people back home never stopped believing in us and supporting us.”

Fiji missed the chance to secure the title earlier in the day as they were defeated 19-17 by a spirited England team.

Fiji recovered to beat Ireland 38-5 and USA 28-7 to finish fifth in Paris and put the pressure on South Africa going in to the final but ultimately it was not enough and Fijians were forced to settle for series silver, despite winning five of the ten rounds.

England produced another powerful performance in the semi-final with a convincing 26-12 victory over Canada to reach their first final of the 2017-18 series, but they were unable to cope with the Blitzboks in the final as the men from South Africa ran out winners in front of a noisy Paris crowd.

One Australian rugby fan, Ben Kush, said afterwards: “Congratulations to our on-field foes and off-field mates the South Africans! Well deserved finals and series win! The icing on the cake was the Team and its management kneeling in prayer acknowledging God for the achievement. A humbling moment. Vinaka.”

All attention now turns to the Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018 in San Francisco from 20-22 July, where 24 men’s and 16 women’s teams will battle it out to become world champions over three days of exciting action.

The dates for the World Rugby Seven’s Series 2018-19 will be announced soon.

WATCH HIGHLIGHTS: South Africa win big in Paris to take world series

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of World Rugby.