It took nine years, but the Blitzboks finally got their hands back on the HSBC SVNS Cape Town trophy by beating France 26-14 in the final at DHL Stadium on Sunday.
The last time SA won their home tournament in Cape Town was in 2015, against Argentina. They were runners-up in 2016 (against England) and 2019 (against New Zealand).
But there were scenes of wild celebration in the stands on Sunday as SA hoisted the much-coveted silverware once again.
Fiji took the bronze medal after thumping Spain 47-10 in the third and fourth-place playoff.
France opened the scoring in the first minute through a try by Celian Pouzelgues and Stephen Parez Edo Martin kicked the conversion.
Flier Donovan Don hit back for the Blitzboks two minutes later for Ricardo Duarttee to add the extra two.
Almost immediately after that, a strong running try from Zain Davids saw the home team take the lead with Duarttee slotting the easy conversion to make it 14-7.
France’s Varian Pasquet grabbed their second try and Martin’s drop from the touchline was successful as the teams went to the break at 14-14.
Shilton van Wyk collected a sniping grubber from Dewald Human in the second minute of the second half to score out wide and Duarttee slotted the kick to make it 21-14 before David Brits scored in the opposite corner as SA took a 26-14 lead.
The hosts were reduced to six players when Siviwe Soyizwapi was yellow-carded with a minute remaining.
In the semifinals, the Blitzboks had to dig deep but did what was necessary to seal a 19-12 victory over Spain to advance to the final for the first time in five years.
Spain shocked the big crowd to take a 12-0 lead with two tries in quick succession shortly before the break, with the Blitzboks stuck in their own half with very little possession. A number of lost line-outs did not help their cause as the team in red made the most of their opportunities.
However, a breakaway try by Zain Davids on the stroke of halftime gave the South Africans and their fans a glimmer of hope against last weekend’s runners-up in Dubai. Tristan Leyds missed the conversion and Spain led by 12-5 at the break.
The Blitzboks had the best possible start to the second half though when they spread the ball wide quickly from a line-out to Shilton van Wyk, who sped away for a brilliant try, with Leyds’ conversion levelling the scores with six minutes to go.
A few minutes later, the Blitzboks again attacked from a set piece, this time a scrum in the Spanish 22, and Leyds had just enough space to go over under the sticks, with his conversion putting the hosts in the lead by seven points and then the hosts’ defence held firm to secure the victory.
France beat Fiji by 19-17 in the other semi after scoring a converted try in the corner with time up on the clock.
In the women’s competition, New Zealand proved too strong for the US in the final, the Black Ferns Sevens running out 26-12 winners. France claimed third place after edging France 17-14.
New Zealand had too much class for France in the semis thrashing them 43-0, to set up the showdown against the US, who upset last week’s champions in Dubai, Australia, 24-19 in the second semi.
Additional reporting by SA Rugby Communications