Springbok Sevens ‘A’ side crowned champions at Rugby Africa tournament

The Springbok Sevens ‘A’ side beat Madagascar 26-12 in the final of the Rugby Africa Sevens at the Labourdonnais Sports Club in Mauritius on Sunday afternoon to be crowned continental kings.

The South Africans had enjoyed a tentative start to the tournament, with pool victories over Nigeria, Zambia and Burkina Faso on Saturday’s first day. But they grew into the competition with every passing match, also accounting for last year's bogey team, Uganda on Sunday morning.

They booked their place in Sunday’s decider with a hard-fought 19-12 win over Zimbabwe’s Cheetahs in the first semi-final, courtesy of tries from co-captains Mfundo Ndhlovu and Sebastiaan Jobb.

That match was an extremely physical encounter that descended into an arm wrestle in the second half but the Springbok Sevens ‘A’ side – a blend of youth and experience – held their nerve, to prevail.

The exciting Madagascar side had beaten Kenya in their semi-final to book their place in the decider.

Ndhlovu had been a potent attacking weapon for the South Africans over the weekend, and was arguably the player of the tournament for Phillip Snyman’s side.

His class again shone through in the final, as did Jobb’s and Ricardo Duartee’s, with ‘Tricky Ricky’ often living up to his name in igniting South African attacks and dictating play.

But it was the less experienced Jayden Nell who got the ball rolling for SA in the final, slipping a few Madagascar tackles to open the scoring in the second minute.

Nell’s power was again on display a few minutes later off a SA line-out in the Madagascar half. His break caused panic among the stretched defence. The ball was eventually fed to the right from a ruck and Ndhlovu capped off the move with another fine try.

Trailing 14-0, Madagascar demonstrated the thrilling running rugby and passing that were a hallmark of an impressive tournament to cut the lead to 14-7 in the fifth minute.

The response from the South Africans was almost immediate, though, with Duarttee rounding off a move that began with great work down the right wing by Jobb.

The half-time score was 21-7 to the Springbok Sevens ‘A’ side.

Madagascar showed a few flashes of their flair and pace in the second stanza to cut the lead to 21-12 with a few minutes left on the clock. They were never able to sustain the pressure long enough to really trouble their more experienced rivals, though.

The South Africans always seemed to have an extra gear to move up to.

It was Jobb done when the flyer showed great footwork and released Nell for the final try of the tournament, and second of the match, sealing a deserved victory for the unbeaten side.