The Springboks Sevens ‘A’ side beat Madagascar 26-12 in the final of the Rugby Sevens at Labourdonnais Sports Club in Mauritius on Sunday to become the champions at the Rugby Africa tournament. The Springboks won the continental Championships in the tropical paradise of Mauritius. South African Rugby fans are thrilled. The Springboks enjoyed smooth sailing at the start of the tournament, with pool victories over Nigeria, Zambia and Burkina Faso on Saturday’s first day. But they progressed into the tournament with every passing match, also accounting for last year’s bogey team, Uganda on Sunday morning. Madagascar was trailing 14-0, demonstrating the thrilling running rugby and passing that were a hallmark of an impressive tournament to cut the lead to 14-7 in the fifth minute.
Blitzbok head coach Philip Snyman congratulated the Springbok Sevens ‘A’ squad for their effort and application as they claimed the Rugby Africa Sevens Cup in Port Louis on Sunday. The South Africans won the Mauritius tournament, played at the Labourdonnais Sports Club over the weekend, with a 26-12 victory over Madagascar in the final. Earlier on Sunday, they beat Zimbabwe 19-12 in the semifinals, and defending champions Uganda 26-0 in the quarterfinals. “This was a good effort, and I am happy with the way the squad applied themselves and executed their duties,” said Snyman. “We had eight players who are uncapped at HSBC SVNS level and they all fitted into the system and the team as the tournament took shape. We wanted to give those players proper match time as it does take a tournament or three before you are ready for the world series and they responded well.
This is another moment of glory for South African sports like the Cricket Test Championships last week. The Springboks have every right to revel in their triumph but to keep it straight. The Springboks are a firm and resilient team that went against teams with similar qualities. They went head-to-head with the National Rugby teams of Zimbabwe, Uganda, Burkina Faso and the like. Wining the Rugby Africa Sevens Cup would have been no easy task. Hopefully Coach Snyman will learn from the lessons of this tournament and work on improving the team’s defence and tackle manoeuvres. Applying themselves to the match and being aware of their roles was essential to winning the rugby game. The Springboks had their work cut out for them going against the opposing national teams. Scoring goals within the time frame of the match hours is essential for the progress of all team members. Both new and old.
In the final against Madagascar, South Africa started well and executed their try-scoring opportunities, but two long-range tries by the Makis kept them in the game. Jayden Nell opened the scoring after a good, angled run resulted in him breaking the line after two minutes and when Ricardo Duarttee converted, the lead was 7-0. Ndhlovu stepped inside his man soon after to extend the lead. Gideon van Wyk ran hard and from the resulting ruck, the SA co-captain scored. Duarttee’s conversion handed them a 14-0 lead. Madagascar came back with a lovely long-range try with several offloads getting the better of the SA defence, but the 14-point lead was restored from the restart as Van Wyk again ran well before setting Duarttee free to score and convert to make it 21-7 lead at the break.
South Africa may have had a tough time manoeuvring the ball into its sphere away from the Malagasies, but the Springboks succeed. Both teams exhibited skill and toughness. This final match of the Championships in Port Louis, Mauritius ultimately determined the future of South African rugby and what the Springboks trained for. This was going to be a match where the metal of both teams where tested. There would be no grey area. The Malagasy team may have scored seven to zero but the Springboks brought home the winning goals that determined the score. Ndhlovu, Duarttee, van Wyk and the other Springboks team mates had to be cautious in beating the opposing team. The Springboks have once more beat the odds moving against the bone crunching challenges they faced. The final match proved to be electrifying but the Springboks came out on top.
Article written by:
Yacoob Cassim
Journalist at Radio Al Ansaar
