Sandile Ngcobo. (Photo by David Van Der Sandt/Gallo Images)
South Africa head coach Sandile Ngcobo said on Saturday his team is at “70% of its potential” after beating Ireland 21-5 to win the second leg of the Rugby World Series Sevens in Dubai, while that Australia kept the women’s title.
With qualification for the 2024 Paris Olympics dependent on qualifying this season, the stakes are high and this was demonstrated on day two in the United Arab Emirates with some more high-quality sevens.
South Africa is the winner of five of the last six tournaments in Dubai, including two last season when the events were played on back-to-back weekends as organizers juggled post-pandemic travel issues.
READ | Kings of the desert! Blitzboks beat Ireland to win record tenth Dubai Sevens crown
“I think we have 70% potential at this stage so there is still room for improvement and that will keep us honest,” Ngcobo said.
“This victory will mean a lot to our system and it justified the fight that the boys showed each other,” he added.
The Blitzboks beat Samoa 24-19 in the quarterfinals before beating New Zealand 26-19 in the semifinals.
Ireland beat Argentina 19-14 before beating the United States, who defeated Hong Kong winners Australia in their fourth, 12-7 for their place in the final.
Two tries from Shilton Van Wyk and another from Siviwe Soyizwapi, all converted by Ricardo James Duarttee, gave the Boks a healthy 21-0 half-time lead over the Irish.
Jack Kelly made a comeback attempt for Ireland early in the second period, but they were unable to get any closer to South Africa.
The women’s competition was won by Australia, who beat New Zealand 26-19 in the final.
Sharni Williams, Faith Nathan, Maddison Levi and Demi Hayes crossed over for tries with Madison Ashby running the show.
The Kiwis hit back with a Michaela Blyde hat-trick, but it proved to be too little too late in the floodlights at The Sevens stadium.
“I think the nicest thing is the consistency,” Ashby said.
“As our coaches say, we are the queens of the desert, we thrive in the heat, so for us it’s just a golden victory,” she added.
The top four teams from each competition at the end of the World Series will be guaranteed a spot in Paris 2024.
