Pumas edge Blitzboks in fifth-place match and take 2023-24 Sevens title

Argentina, playing for the HSBC Sevens title, came back hard in the second half of their fifth-place playoff to edge the Springbok Sevens 14-10 in the teams’ final clash in Singapore on Sunday.

The Blitzboks led 10-0 at the break after first-half tries by Tiaan Pretorius and Siviwe Soyizwapi, but both conversions were unsuccessful.

The Pumas produced a spirited second-half display, scoring the match-winning try in the final minute.

Their victory meant the South Americans will finish at the top of the overall standings and were crowned 2023-24 champions. Ireland, who reached the final , where they will meet New Zealand, are unable to catch Argentina on the log.

The Blitzboks will finish in seventh place.

After winning all three pool games, South Africa crashed out of the top four on Saturday when Australia won a tense quarterfinal 29-24, scoring the winning try in added time after scores were level at the end of regulation time.

One try was enough for the Springbok Women’s team as they finished Singapore Sevens on a winning note and secured ninth position with their second victory of the weekend over the US on Sunday.

The 5-0 victory meant South Africa finished the tournament at the National Stadium with three wins and two defeats from their five games, their second-best performance of the season.

Blitzboks coach Philip Snyman said they while started their game against Argentina well, South Africa did not press home the advantage.

“The first five minutes we were very clinical, showing that if we keep the ball, we can score tries,” he said.

“But you can’t only play for five minutes and then try to defend your score, especially against a team like Argentina, who are the best team in the world at the moment. Once you have them on the ropes, you must put your foot on the pedal and stay in the system.”

Snyman said the Blitzboks will need to look at their decision-making and converting opportunities, while they also seemed to veer from the game plan when the pressure was on.

“It’s a concern as I believe we were good enough to play in the semifinal this weekend, but we can’t keep on thinking about things, it’s time to deliver now and we didn’t do that.

“Starting with me as coach and the management, we’ll take a hard look at ourselves, do some planning and try to get the players into good mental state for the rest of the season.

“We need to create pressure situations and ensure they come through it, because at the moment, when the pressure is on, we do things out of character and then results go against us.

“Yes, we topped our pool and we fought back well against France [on Saturday]. Going into the playoffs our goal was to reach the semifinals and we came so close to that, but we had three opportunities in extra time which we could not convert, and Australia got one chance and used it.

“We also had Argentina against the ropes, so while there are positives from the weekend, we now have to translate that into getting results.”

The Blitzboks still have much to play for in the Grand Finale in Madrid later this month, before they will set their sights on qualifying for the Paris Olympic Games in Monaco next month.

Scorers

South Africa 10 (10) — Tries: Siviwe Soyizwapi, Tiaan Pretorius.

Argentina 14 (0) — Tries: Agustin Fraga, Tobias Wade. Conversions: Wade (2).

SA Rugby