Fighting Blitzboks held off by Argentina in Canada Sevens final

The Blitzboks’ fightback in the Canada Sevens final came up short as they went down to series leaders Argentina.

The South Africans scored a dramatic win over Fiji in the cup semi-finals at BC Place late on Sunday, beating them 12-10 after scoring the winning points in the final play of the match, before going down to the Argentines in the decider in the early hours of Monday.

Los Pumas laid the foundation for a 19-12 win over the SA team in the Vancouver final in the first half, scoring the only two tries of the half.

South Africa were penalised a couple of times at the breakdown and could not get any momentum, while Los Pumas were more clinical when in possession and the 12-0 lead at the break was a deserved one.

When Argentina scored in the opening play from the second-half restart to take a 19-0 lead, things looked dire for the men in green and gold.

Blitzboks hit back

But the Blitzboks’ fighting spirit was once again a highlight of their tournament.

A brilliant solo run by Quewin Nortje got them on the board. Nortje beat two defenders on an 80-metre scoring run. When Siviwe Soyizwapi scored his 154th career try from a move he initiated with a great break, the Blitzboks were just one try away from levelling the score.

The Blitzboks created opportunities, but credit to the 2025 Vancouver champions who held them out for a well-earned win.

Lying third overall

South Africa have now finished fifth in Dubai, first in Cape Town, fourth in Perth and their silver medal in Canada leaves them six points shy of log leaders, Los Pumas, in the World Rugby SVNS series.

Argentina (68 points), Spain (64 points), South Africa and Fiji (both on 62 points) are moving clear from the rest of the pack, with France (46 points) and Australia and New Zealand (38 points) losing sight of the top four after four tournaments played.

Hong Kong (28-30 March) and Singapore (5-6 April) are the two remaining tournaments left in the regular season, with a Grand Finale in Los Angeles (3-4 May).

This story was first published on sarugbymag.co.za. It is republished here with permission.