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TimesLIVE
06-05-2025
- Sport
- TimesLIVE
Blitzboks' true colours glittered in LA, says coach Snyman
Blitzboks coach Philip Snyman heaped praise on his squad after a commanding weekend of sevens rugby displayed at the HSBC Sevens World Championship in Los Angeles, with the Blitzboks finishing as the only undefeated side and crowned winners on Sunday. Strong performances on day one at Dignity Health Sports Park saw pool victories over France, Great Britain and Argentina, then the Blitzboks outplayed New Zealand in the semifinals and Spain in the final on day two to lift the World Championship trophy for the first time. 'This team delivered an amazing performance over the weekend,' Snyman said. 'The players deserve much credit for the way they played in Los Angeles. We had good parts and bad parts to our season, but this weekend we got it all together and that is a satisfying feeling. Fantastic news for South Africans to wake up to 🏆 The Blitzboks beat Spain 19-5 in Los Angeles to win the final tournament, the SVNS World Championship, of the season 🇿🇦👏 #HSBCSVNS | #HSBCSVNSLAX — SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) May 5, 2025 'Any coach will tell you your plan can only be as good as the buy-in from the players and their execution thereof. This weekend it all came together. 'They stuck to our plan, but also played the moments when it was there to exploit. They did exceptional things on the field during this tournament and the credit must go to them. 'Some of those moments of brilliance by the players in the final made this a special win. 'This performance was proof of the potential of this squad. The players executed their roles well, there was a common belief in what is possible and how to achieve that and the result is there for them to enjoy. Quewin Nortje is the speedster on the outside ⚡ He bags the Blitzboks second try in the Cup Semi-Final 🏉 📺 Stream #HSBCSVNSLAX on DStv: — SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) May 4, 2025 'This performance completes the puzzle for us and what a beautiful picture we got. This was the true colours of Springbok Sevens and I cannot be prouder of what it represented and displayed this weekend.' The Blitzboks coach reflected on the major moments of the weekend. 'Our defence was great, the attack worked well, while there was this hunger in each player to use this tournament to make up for the disappointing ones we had along the way.' Blitzboks captain Selvyn Davids said the effort during the weekend made him proud. 'The guys left everything out there on the field, we gave it our all,' he said. 'That is an amazing feeling. We fought for each other and we fought for the badge and knowing we achieved that was already a win for me.' Davids said the lesson learnt from this season is consistency is key to everything. 'The consistency we lacked during the year prevented us from reaching our full potential as a team. This tournament we managed to maintain the same level of excellence and that proved gold for us.' Davids, named Player of the Final, said the weekend's performance came via a complete team effort. 'The format of only eight teams was always going to be demanding, but we managed to stay in the moment in each game. We had dark spots during matches, but every time someone did something special to make that disappear. 'Everyone focused on the next job and got it done. I am so proud of this.'
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Aussies no match for Kiwis in sevens world title final
Australia women's sevens side have been unable to defend their world championship title, thumped by a dominant New Zealand in the final of the Los Angeles tournament. The Australians were outplayed 31-7 by the Kiwis, who also won the regular season title after taking out the last three rounds to relegate the green and gold to runner-up. It was sweet revenge for New Zealand, who were eliminated by Australia in the semi-finals of last year's world championship in Madrid. Black Ferns dominance 🖤New Zealand are #HSBCSVNS World Champions in LA🏆#HSBCSVNSLAX — HSBC SVNS (@SVNSSeries) May 5, 2025 The Olympic champions got off to a flying start with Jorja Miller opening the scoring in the first minute when she out-paced Teagan Levi to touch down. The New Zealanders then showed their strength in defence to stonewall the Aussie attack before turning over the ball, with Michaela Brake giving her side a 12-0 lead at halftime. Exciting youngster Mackenzie Davis, who was also a standout in defence, gave the Australians a sniff by scoring a try early in the second half. But the remainder of the match was one-way traffic as Australia struggled to get their superstar Maddison Levi, the season's top tryscorer, into the game. Risi Pouri-Lane hit straight back to push the margin out to 10 points before Mahina Paul put the result out of reach, scoring for a 24-7 lead. Sarah Hirini then ran on to a Miller off-load with the Black Ferns sevens captain punching the air in delight after she touched down at the venue for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. "Man that feels good, I'm so happy, it's nice to be able to take that trophy back home," 32-year-old Hirini told Stan Sport. "I don't show too much emotion but I probably showed how much it meant to this group. "After the Olympic gold medal we wanted to show that we were a great team and to us that was winning the league and winning the series and we did it." Earlier Australia's men lost the fifth place showdown against France 33-7.
TimesLIVE
04-05-2025
- Sport
- TimesLIVE
Blitzboks win three from three to book semifinal spot in LA
The Springbok Sevens team qualified for the playoffs of the HSBC Sevens World Championship in Los Angeles with victories over France, Great Britain and Argentina in their pool and will face New Zealand in the semifinals on Sunday. South Africa won 19-10 against France, edged out Great Britain 12-7 and scored five tries against Argentina in a 29-21 victory on the first day of action at Dignity Health Sports Park in Los Angeles. Against Argentina, Ronald Brown struck first for a 7-0 scoreline, but two quick tries by the Pumas pushed them into the lead. Ryan Oosthuizen scored to level matters at the break, with Ricardo Duarttee converting both tries. Three unanswered tries by the Blitzboks gave them an impressive 29-14 lead before a late try by Argentina saved them some blushes. The South Americans will face Spain in the other semifinal. The individual brilliance from Ronald Brown 😮💨🤌 #HSBCSVNSLAX | #HSBCSVNS — SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) May 3, 2025 After an impressive performance against France, South Africa were on the money again against Great Britain, with two tries within the first five minutes putting them into the fast lane towards victory. First, Brown kicked ahead in the opening minute of play, regathered and scored for a 7-0 lead before Shilton van Wyk chased down his own kick as well to score his 50th Sevens Series try. Leading 12-0, the Blitzboks were in cruise control, but then stepped off the gas, allowing their opponents to claw their way back into the match. Freddie Roddick scored on the buzzer for a converted try, giving the UK side something of a sniff in the second half. The second half remained scoreless, but went from one side to the other as both sides had their moments, but could not convert. Some good scrambling defence by the Blitzboks proved vital as they held out their opponents to secure their second win of the day. In the first match, the French started very well and pressured the Blitzboks into mistakes, which led to two unanswered tries — by Varian Pasquet and Simon Désert — to give them a 10-point lead. The quick transitions from the @Blitzboks 😮💨🇿🇦 Zain Davids makes an immediate impact off the bench 🔥 📺 Stream #HSBCSVNSLAX on DStv: — SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) May 3, 2025 The Blitzboks knuckled down and showed character to fight back after going down 10-0 late in the first half. Selvyn Davids' late try before the break, from a great grubber into space, meant the teams swapped sides with France leading by 10-7. The second half belonged to the Blitzboks, who held onto possession much better as they worked to find space, with Shilton van Wyk and Zain Davids adding their names to the score sheet. Van Wyk circled the French defence on the right wing before Zain Davids ran the perfect angle onto a short pass into space by Ricardo Duarttee to give the Blitzboks a nine-point lead. France lost a player to the sin bin and the game finished as the South Africans showed some real grit on defence to deny their opponents a losing bonus-point. The Blitzboks' semifinal against New Zealand is at 10.46pm on Sunday night (SA time), shortly after Spain and Argentina face off (10.24pm). Scorers South Africa 19 (7) — Tries: Selwyn Davids, Shilton van Wyk, Zain Davids. Conversions: Ronald Brown, Ricardo Duarttee. France 10 (10) — Tries: Varian Pasquet, Simon Désert. South Africa 12 (12) — Tries: Ronald Brown, Shilton van Wyk. Conversion: Brown. Great Britain 7 (7) — Try: Freddie Roddick. Conversion: Matt Davidson.
