South Africa’s Blitzboks were crowned Sevens World Champions for the second consecutive year despite finishing fourth at the season-ending tournament in Bordeaux, France.
Having already secured the World Championship title on Saturday, the Blitzboks ended their campaign just outside the podium places after suffering defeats in both the semi-final and third-place play-off.
The South Africans booked their place in the last four to successfully defend the World Championship crown. However, tournament hosts France ended their hopes of reaching the final with a 21-12 victory in the semi-finals. Spain then dominated the third-place play-off, defeating the Blitzboks 40-14 to secure the bronze medal.
France continued their impressive form in front of a home crowd, beating New Zealand 14-5 in the final to lift the tournament trophy.
Earlier on Saturday, South Africa secured the World Championship title by reaching the semi-finals. The Blitzboks, who had already been crowned World Series champions earlier this year, only needed a quarter-final victory over Fiji to guarantee the title after their closest rivals failed to advance.
Argentina were unable to secure a quarter-final berth, while Australia’s challenge ended in the last eight, leaving the door open for South Africa to claim back-to-back world crowns.
The Blitzboks rose to the occasion, producing a spirited comeback to defeat Fiji 14-12 in a thrilling quarter-final encounter. The victory also served as sweet revenge after an earlier defeat to the Pacific Islanders during the tournament.
Although they fell short of a medal in Bordeaux, the Blitzboks’ successful defence of the Sevens World Championship title capped off another remarkable season for South African rugby.