SA capture London Sevens title
Brad Morgan
6 June 2005
After showing encouraging form in the Singapore leg of the IRB Sevens Series, South Africa got their game together in England to win the London leg of the competition with a series of superb displays.
Paul Treu's charges, ranked fourth in the series' standings, beat the other five teams in the top six on their way to securing the honours.
On the opening day they began with a 33-7 victory over Portugal, followed by a 24-12 defeat of Kenya. Then against Argentina, who had made two finals during the series already (as opposed to the zero of South Africa), they sneaked home 24-21 to take top spot in Pool D.
Real fireworks
On day two, the South Africans produced real fireworks, starting in the quarterfinals against Australia. The match proved to be a total mismatch as the SA team blew the Aussies away, recording a crushing 42-0 victory.
The comprehensive win booked captain Jaco Pretorius and his side a
semi-final place against New Zealand. The Kiwis, who included out of favour All Black winger Joe Rokocoko in their line-up, had seen off France 21-12 to reach the semi-finals, and in the process secured enough points to ensure they successfully defended the overall series title.
In Singapore, the New Zealanders had beaten South Africa 24-12 on their way to winning the title. This time around it was a totally different story as SA turned in the performance of the competition to beat them 35-26.
Not even close
It was, in reality, not even close as South Africa raced into an unbelievable 35-0 lead before the Kiwis struck back. Using their greater pace, the South Africans hurtled away into an astonishing 28-0 lead at the break, and then, after SA added a further seven points, it was far too late for the Kiwis.
The victory brought to an end a run of four tournament wins on the trot for New Zealand.
In the final against England, who
had romped to a 33-7 victory over Argentina in the semi-finals, it was the home team that got on the board first, with Richard Haughton crossing for a converted try.
The South African response was swift and telling. Jaco Pretorius, Schalk van der Merwe and Fabien Juries replied with tries for South Africa, all of them converted, to help Paul Treu's line-up to a 21-7 lead at halftime.
In the second half England added a further try through Ben Gollings, but determined and fierce South African defence kept them from crossing the SA tryline again as Jaco Pretorius' side held on to win 21-12.
SOUTH AFRICAN RESULTS
Pool D
SA vs Portugal 33-7
SA vs Kenya 24-12
SA vs Argentina 24-21
Quarterfinals
SA vs Australia 42-0
Semi-finals
SA vs New Zealand 35-26
Final
SA vs England 21-12
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