Blitzboks book Olympic ticket with win in Monaco

They did it the hard way, but the Springbok Sevens booked their ticket to the Paris Olympics when they beat Great Britain 14-5 in the final of the World Rugby Sevens Repechage event in Monaco on Sunday.

It was a reward for the Springbok Sevens system that they will compete in the Olympics for the third consecutive time since Rugby Sevens was introduced in 2016, but the real relief was the Blitzboks’ swagger and belief seemed to be back.

Interim Springbok Sevens coach Philip Snyman, an Olympic bronze medallist in 2016, believes successful entry to the Paris Games has installed belief his team has turned a miserable season around.

“We had some bad months, yes, but the comeback is now complete,” he said.

“We got ourselves into the mess of having to qualify via repechage, but credit to the way the players responded. We came here knowing defence would be the key to success and only conceded three tries in six matches. The guys deserve a lot of credit.

“We were down and out but credit to the guys. They deserve this and I am pleased we will be going to Paris.”

On Sunday, the Blitzboks outplayed Uganda, Canada and Great Britain to claim the final ticket to the Rugby Sevens at the Paris Summer Olympics, which runs from July 26 to August 11.

Team captain Selvyn Davids praised his troops and the team's management for a job well done.

“The guys wanted this. We came here well prepared, with good confidence and a solid game plan. Credit to our opponents, especially Great Britain, who gave us a hard time in the final,” Davids said.

“We knew it would be a tough weekend but the way we responded to everything our opponents threw at us makes me a proud Blitzboks captain.”

World Rugby also announced the pools for the Rugby Sevens event in Paris.

South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand and Japan will contest Pool A, while Argentina, Australia, Samoa and Kenya are in Pool B. Hosts France will face defending champions Fiji, the US and Uruguay in Pool C.