Dubai: South Africa put on a dominating display on their favorite hunting ground to clinch their seventh Emirates Dubai 7s men’s title in nine years, but the Springboks feel they are not yet at their best.
“There is room for many improvements and we have not reached our true potential. We have to soak up this victory and be more concrete about our victories in the future,” said manager Sandile Caleb Ngcobo, despite the euphoria among many South African fans who continued to cheer on the winning team.
Buoyed by the shock win over the All Blacks in the semi-finals, the South Africans took an early lead in the final against Ireland and continued to extend their lead to 21-0 while keeping a clean slate until the end of the first half.
The Australian women’s rugby team celebrate after winning the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series final, at The Sevens Stadium in Dubai.
Image credit: Ahmed Ramzan/ Gulf News
The South African defense was threatening while the attack looked dangerous, making it difficult for Ireland to break the tie until well past midway through the second half, but by then the game was all but over.
“Great effort on defense and great character shown by the players,” Caleb Ngcobo said after recording his first win as a manager. “I have never lost in Dubai as I was a player on the Samurai team before.”
South Africa’s victory in the year they qualify for the Olympic Games should be a big boost to their aspirations. Explaining the mentality that gave the Springboks their seventh crown, “We started slowly and gained momentum with each game. After a tough semi-final against New Zealand, it’s very easy to gain confidence from that game. We thought that if we could get past the semi-final, the final would take care of itself,” said James Murphy, the South African mainstay, who was also unconvinced with his team’s performance.
“Not a perfect game, but a great boost for the guys who worked hard after a couple of disappointing results. I’m super proud of the guys and super proud to be a part of the system. It’s more about believing. One of the reasons Dubai is special is the way they take care of us, going the extra mile. And the fans make us feel closer to a tournament at home”, added the pillar.
It was a huge disappointment for the many Irish fans who had hoped their team would end South Africa’s dominance at the Dubai Rugby Sevens and Exiles ground.
Ireland captain Harry McNulty felt they could not have done anything against this perfect South African side who safely negotiated anything thrown at them.
“It’s one of those games where South Africa was perfect, they played very well without making any mistakes. It’s the first final in Dubai for us, which is a great achievement in a big tournament. These are amazing results and we have to do it over and over again,” said the skipper, who has a good knowledge of the region having been born in Bahrain and learned his tricks of the trade in the kingdom.
‘The support is fantastic. It’s hard not to come back with a win, but getting to the final and singing the National Anthem in front of a huge crowd of fans was a privilege,” added McNulty with an eye toward Olympic qualification. “Our goal is to finish in the top four. So we want to be consistent throughout the year.”
Not the day for the All Blacks, as not only did they miss out on the men’s crown, after losing the semi-finals 26-19 to South Africa, the Black Ferns were outwitted by a determined Australian team, who gave nothing away in the final, winning 26- 19
The first half ended with Australia holding a slim 14-12 lead, but they picked up the pace with Maddison Levi scoring the 11th try this week to increase the tally to 19-12 and nearly settled the issue with another try late in the second. half to go 26-12. The brilliant Australian defense held their strength until the final minutes when Black Ferns scored to reduce the winning margin.
The All Blacks men’s team beat the USA to win third place 31-12, while the USA women had the consolation of beating France to clinch bronze 21-19.
Results:
Final: South Africa beat Ireland 21-5
Third-place play-off: New Zealand defeated the United States 31-12
semifinals:
Ireland beat USA 12-7
South Africa beat New Zealand 26-19
Final: Australia beat New Zealand 26-19
Match for third place:
semifinals:
Australia beat France 38-5
New Zealand beat the United States 35-0.
