South Africa win title at home, New Zealand triumph as Cape Town champions

At the end of a new-look HSBC SVNS Series stop in Cape Town, the New Zealand women’s side and South African men overcame tough opposition to triumph in thrilling title deciders. The Black Ferns Sevens got the better of the USA 26-12, followed by the Blitzboks’ 26-14 win over France.

New Zealand finished 2024 on top of the overall women’s standings after bouncing back from their runners-up finish in Dubai to go one better in the Western Cape. The Americans held a 12-point lead during the first half on Sunday, but a Jorja Miller masterclass inspired a comeback.

With SVNS Cape Town introducing a new format to the Series, with the 12 women’s and men’s sides split across four pools instead of three, New Zealand’s wins over China and Japan during pool play were enough to see them progress through to the final four of the competition.

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There would be no quarter-final stage at DHL Stadium with the four pool winners progressing through to the penultimate round. They faced France in a rematch of last season’s semi-final at the very same venue, while Dubai champions Australia took on the Americans.

New Zealand blitzed France 43-nil as seven different try scorers made an impact, and that was followed by Nia Toliver’s standout performance in the USA’s upset win over the Aussies. That set the stage for the Women’s Cup Final, with both sides eager to end 2024 on a positive note.

Toliver’s purple patch of form carried into the big dance as the American ran in for the opener in the first minute. An effort from Alyssa Porter about one minute later saw the USA take a shock 12-nil lead early in the battle for SVNS Cape Town glory.

But the Black Ferns Sevens showed their class during an otherwise flawless performance. Miller hit back for the Kiwis in the sixth minute, and an intercept from Theresa Setefano ultimately laid the foundations for Olympic gold medallist Jazmin Felix-Hotham to score just before the break.

Kelsey Teneti and Dhys Faleafaga scored a try each during the second term as the Black Ferns Sevens ran away for a convincing 26-12 win. That was the New Zealand women’s side’s first title win on the SVNS Series since wrapping up the league title in Singapore last season.

Miller gets @nz_sevens back into the game 💪#HSBCSVNS | #HSBCSVNSCPT pic.twitter.com/TuJrTB2KhV

— HSBC SVNS (@SVNSSeries) December 8, 2024

In other results, France had stunned Australia 17-14 in the third-place playoff. That result saw the New Zealanders finished the year on 38 overall competition points, while the Aussies are second on 34 and France in third on 32.

As for the Men’s Cup Final, South Africa have won their first SVNS Series title on home soil since the 2015/16 season after running away for a tough win over France. The Blitzboks were the better team during the second half as they outclassed the defending overall Series champions.

South Africa beat Ireland 36-7 and Argentina 29-5 to book their place in the semi-finals, where they proved too strong for a valiant Spanish outfit. But the challenge that awaited them in the big one wasn’t going to be any easier, with France also playing at a high level over the weekend.

Following big wins over the USA and New Zealand in pool play, as well as a dramatic win over Fiji in the semi-finals, the French had proven themselves a worthy contender before the title decider. It always had the makings of a bit of an epic and fans weren’t left disappointed.

Celian Pouzelgues scored the opener for France inside the first minute, but it was practically all the hosts from there as Donovan Don and Zain Davids scored quick tries each. France’s Varian Pasquet would score next to lock the scores at 14-all at half-time.

Shilton van Wyk was one of the standouts for the Blitzboks during the semi-final win over Fiji, and that was once again the case in this clash with the speedster scoring in the ninth minute. David Brits’ five-pointer about one minute later sent the crowd into a frenzy.

As the Cape Town crowd dared to dream of their rugby heroes emerging victorious, the players themselves seemed to thrive on that confidence. The Blitzboks’ trademark rush defence stood tall as they forced Les Bleus Sevens into making some mistakes in key moments.

After losing their last two Cup Finals on home soil, the South Africa men’s side were emotional at full-time after tasting victory this time around. It was a memorable end to the calendar year for a side that continues to build on the back of their bronze medal at the Pairs Olympics.