Boks rule again in season-opening Dubai sevens
South Africa notched up their fifth consecutive title at the season-opening Dubai sevens tournament with a pulsating victory over Argentina on Sunday.
The Blitzboks beat Los Pumas 12-7 in the final of the first event of the new-look, eight-leg World Rugby SVNS Series.
The series moves on to Cape Town next weekend, with the third leg slated for Perth, Australia, at the end of January.
Action then moves Stateside to legs in Vancouver and Los Angeles before Asian stops in Singapore and Hong Kong ahead of the May 31-June 2 finals in Madrid.
The South African team overcame Australia 24-7 in the quarter-finals and Fiji 14-7 in the semis before taking on Argentina.
Los Pumas came from behind to beat Samoa 21-14 in the quarters and New Zealand 21-19 in a last-four clash to reach their first-ever final in Dubai.
Tries from Impi Visser and Shilton van Wyk, with a Justin Geduld conversion, handed the Boks a 12-0 half-time lead.
Argentina made the most of Ryan Oosthuizen being sent to the sin bin through a try by Matias Osadczuk converted by Santiago Mare.
But the Boks held on for another Dubai title in a season where the ultimate aim will be to dethrone Fiji as Olympic champions at the Paris 2024 Games.
"We had a very good pre-season and the guys showed that they were ready to play six tough matches," South Africa coach Philip Snyman said.
"The way they worked, based on defence, also showed their willingness to work off the ball and cover each other’s backs and that is a wonderful thing for coaches to see."
New Zealand claimed third spot with a victory over Fiji.
The women's title went the way of Australia for a fourth consecutive time.
Teagan Levi touched down either side of halftime as the Australians ended New Zealand’s 41-match winning streak in a 21-14 victory.
Skipper Charlotte Caslick said Levi had been "unbelievable".
"She’s had an amazing pre-season and we’re all getting to see the hard work she’s done this year."
A first-half hat-trick from Yolaine Yengo allied with a Lou Noel try helped France to third place with a 26-5 win over Canada.
