The Springbok Women’s Sevens team has won the World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series in Stellenbosch, securing their spot as a core team in the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series for next season with a dramatic 17-14 victory over Belgium in the final.
According to SA Rugby, the match against the Belgians, who defeated China 22-5 to advance to the final, was a challenging one at the end of a long tournament.
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South Africa appeared to be in control at the break, leading 12-0, but Belgium fought back to take a 14-12 lead before Libbie Janse van Rensburg scored the game-winner after the buzzer sounded, SA Rugby reported.
After only 45 seconds, Ayanda Malinga was over for the first try after a great switch of direction opened up space on the left, with Sizophila Solontsi providing a superb offload in the tackle.
According to SA Rugby, the Springbok Women had little possession for the rest of the first half and failed to convert their few chances into points, but Solontsi eventually went over just before the break to give SA a 12-0 lead.
From the restart, however, Cecile Blondiau broke a few tackles to put Belgium on the board, which was only the Bok Women’s second try of the weekend. Nele Pien’s conversion made the score 12-7.
With the South Africans clearly tiring, Blondiau scored another try for Belgium, and Pien’s conversion gave them a 14-12 lead with three minutes remaining.
Renfred Dazel’s team, on the other hand, had enough left in the tank and demonstrated great character to allow Janse van Rensburg to crash over after the Belgians conceded a few penalties in the red zone, clinching a memorable win for South Africa, which won 11 and drew only one of their 12 matches in the two tournaments.
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