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South Africa stun New Zealand as menās Olympic sevens semi-finals set
By Finn Morton
The semi-final matchups for the menās rugby sevens competition at the Paris Olympic Games are set after a series of famous knockout clashes at Stade de France on Thursday evening.
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Either South Africa, France, Fiji or Australia will take out the gold medal on the worldās biggest sporting stage after overcoming some fierce opposition in their respective quarter-finals.
Playing in front of a vibrant crowd at the world-famous sports venue, South Africa were the first team to progress after shocking arch-rivals New Zealand 14-7 in a thriller.
Moses Leo scored New Zealandās only try of the match after breaking through a Rosko Specman tackle attempt on the stroke of half-time. But South Africa had already done some damage on the scoreboard and were good enough to hang on.
South Africa had lost to New Zealand and Ireland in pool play, but after beating Japan by a comprehensive margin on day two, they moved on to the quarters as one of the best third-placed sides.
That gave them a chance.
It doesnāt get any easier for the men from The Rainbow Nation who will take on France for a shot at a guaranteed medal. Antoine Dupontās team got the better of SVNS League Winners Argentina 26-14 in what was a rematch of the Seriesā Championship Final in Madrid.
Whoever wins that semi-final will claim either a gold or silver medal, while the loser will be left to scrap it out for a bronze medal against either Fiji or Australia.
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āWe really wanted to make a clean and complete match, to play our game, which we havenāt done since the beginning of the tournament. Iām really proud of the team. When we struggle, itās hard, but we did well tonight, Franceās Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang said.
āMaybe we realised that we are playing the Olympic Games at home. Maybe we got back that hunger that we didnāt have on the first day. Argentina are a very physical team. We knew if we werenāt in the combat zone, we would not go through.
āI know we only won the quarter-final, but to play in a stadium like this. I never felt that in my life. To play in front of 69,000 people is something I could not imagine doing in my life.
āI know there is still a long way to go, but that moment gave us crazy emotions. I was almost in tears at the end. Thanks to the fans, I donāt have the words. Seeing 69,000 for a rugby sevens game, I think we destroyed the previous record by two or three times. I feel so honoured to be here.ā
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Fiji took on Ireland in the third quarter-final and managed to leave with a win. It was a tense match with the defending two-time Olympic gold medallists only winning by a slender four-point margin.
Ireland will once again be left to rue what couldāve been. After a consistent season on the SVNS Series, they came into the Paris Games with genuine belief of challenging for a medal, but theyāll have to wait another four years to potentially be in this position again.
Fiji will take on Australia, who might just be the form team of the competition at the moment.
The Aussies went through pool play with an unbeaten run of three wins from as many starts, which included a victory against Argentina. But they saved maybe their best performance for the quarters in an 18-nil demolition of Perry Bakerās USA.
Menās semi-finals from 2:30 pm local time
Fiji vs Australia
South Africa vs France
Where are the videos of these matches?
SA deserved the win, ABs were error prone and I believe a little complacent. I am assuming a Fiji vs France final, unless the Boks can destoy Dupontās dream again.
Lol that would be great. I wouldn't assume anything yet of course. Anyone of the 4 teams can win the Gold and deservedly so. I hope SA, but wouldn't put money on it.
Well, on X they claim they beat SA by 2-1 and won the series against SA. Nevermind that it's 2 different competitions with completely different players, and a completely different country. AGAIN, they think that talking about it and claiming it, that they are the winners. That they DESERVE IT. Yet, as per usual, they CHOKED AGAIN in the quarterfinals. The Boks had 2 good games. That's it. The French is a different story altogether. They know how to reach a final. 2 games to go for either Gold or Bronze. Good news that, but coming in 4th don't get medals, so the Boks have to get in the final to be assured of a medal. It won't be easy. Only teams that CAN play is still in the competition, not teams that thinks talking themselves into a medal will get them a medal. Fiji is now the favorites would be my guess, but anyone can take it from here. Good luck Boks!! As usual you have my full supportšÆ
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The Irish are quarter finals specialists and specialists at losing the really important games. The second test against SA was a consolation prize. Their stated mission was another away series win against a SH team. Couldnāt do it.
Lol no, not specialists of quarterfinals or else they would have won every quarterfinal. They are specialists in the group stages and CLAIMING they are the best. Reality of course is a completely different dose entirelyš
So the Irish supposedly won the (3-match) series against SA, but choked in the quarterfinals of a major tournament, AGAIN! I am really sorry to hear thatā¦
That was two lads joking on X. But if you like Ireland one 2 out of 3 in the last 10 months against SA: two in SA, one neutral. Who is better? We will give you the series draw if you ask nicely.
PS I didnāt know pussies could bleed that much #TamponBoksDurban
Does this make Fiji the best team in the world?
Suzie strikes again. Go Bokke!
Wonder what excuse they are going to come up with this time? Ref, Suzie, bad draw. They are really running out of excuses. So how about this as a yardstick for which is the best nation at rugby? SA is the only nation that have played in both 15 man RWC and the Olympics 7ās semi finals within a year of each other. We know what they donāt know.