South Africa end nearly 30 years of hurt to finally grab Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens crown

South Africa ended 29 years of hurt, brutally and ruthlessly wresting the Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens crown from Argentina at a charged Kai Tak Stadium on Sunday. The king maybe dead, but rugby sevens has anointed a new all-powerful monarch. On easy street from the ninth minute, when Ryan Oosthuizen crossed to open up a 12-point lead, South Africa ran riot. They added 16 points in the closing five minutes to win 35-7, claiming their first Hong Kong title and a fourth straight tournament success. Their unfettered glee was noisily evident in the team song they aired after receiving the medals that have evaded Blitzboks’ clutches since South Africa first competed in Hong Kong in 1997. The contrast with their vanquished rivals, slumped on the floor, exhausted, beaten and longing to be transported back to their own jubilation 12 months ago, was stark. “We have 11 languages and lots of different songs,” Oosthuizen said. “South Africa is a country of diversity and we celebrate that. Siviwe Soyizwapi leads the song and we all chime in.” Before the trophy presentation, Soyizwapi, a 33-year-old who made his debut in 2016, briefly stood apart from his teammates to reflect on an achievement he called “the best of my career”. “Never winning in Hong Kong has been a monkey on our back, and it became personal,” he said. “It felt an almost impossible task, and after how long it took, and how much hard work it needed, I couldn’t hold myself and my emotions. “To finally be able to lead the team song here is pretty special.” Having survived an enormous fright in their quarter-final against Kenya on Saturday, when Soyizwapi’s overtime try spared them elimination, South Africa began Sunday by running up a 26-0 semi-final lead against New Zealand, before winning 26-12. After Argentina overcame Spain 19-12 in their last-four match, forward Matteo Graziani said the 2025 champions would have a grand chance in the final, as long as they kept seven men on the field following the red card cost them dearly in a 38-0 demolition by the South Africans on Saturday. A Santino Zangara try levelled for the Argentines, after Tristan Leyds’ early score, but Selvyn Davids soon profited from a surging Leyds run to restore the advantage for a South African side that looked like they had an extra man all over again. “We have a lot of magic and creativity in the backs,” said Oosthuizen who made his international debut in Hong Kong nine years ago. “Selvyn and Tristan are phenomenal, they’re world class. We [forwards] need to do our job, make tackles, get turnovers, and those guys will do the dancing with their magic feet.” Oosthuizen, Shilton van Wyk and Davids, again, all touched down after half-time before Soyizwapi got the party started. “We had a scrum towards the end, and I took a moment and realised it had actually happened, and that we could celebrate,” Soyizwapi said. “I looked at the guys on the side, and thought about people who were with us all those years when we tried but didn’t get there.” For Oosthuizen, the triumph belonged in the top three from his 63-tournament career, the 30-year-old ranking it alongside South Africa’s 2024 Olympic bronze and their home success in Cape Town early in this campaign. “We want to be the best sevens system in the world and we’re hard on each other,” he said. “We had lots of honest conversations in pre-season, and again after we lost to Spain [on Friday]. We bounced back and we have instilled pride in our game.” Calling himself a boring guy, which no one who watched him dancing and singing would countenance, Soyizwapi said he would celebrate by calling family at home. Oosthuizen was planning “a couple of beers”. “No, lots of beers,” he said. Spain beat New Zealand 32-28 in a fantastic third-place contest. Anton Legorburu, who crossed for the last-ditch winning try, said: “It’s a dream to get third in Hong Kong. It was so hard to lose to Argentina, afterwards we put good energy in the team, and played good music, and were all together for the match.”

South Africa end nearly 30 years of hurt to finally grab Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens crown

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Victory over Argentina gives Blitzboks a first title in the city since first playing in 1997

Victory over Argentina gives Blitzboks a first title in the city since first playing in 1997