The Springbok Sevens have often come up short against Fiji in this year’s HSBC World Sevens Series, but on Sunday they showed grit, determination, and resilience to edge a thrilling contest 21-19 and claim the crown as Perth Sevens champions.
The Blitzboks have only beaten Fiji once this season prior to Sunday, in extra time in Cape Town where they also won the title. After losing the pool game to the Fijians on Saturday, they dug deep to finally come out on top in the final. Having also fallen short in extra time in Singapore, this victory stands as a massive achievement for the South African side.
Much of the credit goes to Ryan Oosthuizen, who was named Player of the Final. The 30-year-old delivered a brace of tries, the second of which proved decisive. Often understated, Oosthuizen has been a rock in the team, consistently playing with heart and determination. Even when Fiji’s star Viwa Naduvalo outpaced him for their first try, Oosthuizen displayed awareness and sportsmanship by forcing a difficult conversion attempt, which ultimately was missed — the difference between the sides at the final whistle.
Across the 14-minute final, the Blitzboks were sharper and exploited mistakes to keep Fiji under control, despite being considered underdogs. Dawid Brits set up the first try with a clever interception, sending the ball wide to Sebastian Jobb, who then put Oosthuizen in for a corner run. Shortly after, a Fiji mistake allowed Ricardo Duartee to shift the ball to Jobb again, racing down the touchline to put South Africa 14-0 up.
Fiji responded with tries from Naduvalo and Jeremaia Matana, closing the half at 14-12. Teiro Velawa put Fiji ahead early in the second half, but Oosthuizen’s second try, a powerful run that brushed off multiple defenders, gave the Blitzboks the lead again. Duartee’s conversion sealed the 21-19 victory.
Oosthuizen praised the team’s fight after the match, saying, “Playing Fiji you know it will be a battle and we expected a war today. I’m super proud of the way the team fought for each other — that’s the Blitzbok standard.” On his bulldozing second try, he joked, “I’m not as fast as some of these other guys, so sometimes I have to run over people.”
Earlier in the day, the Blitzboks beat Australia to reach the final, while Fiji had demolished New Zealand 35-0. But by the evening, it was the South African team celebrating, claiming their second title of the season and their first in Australia since 2017.
My Goat Sports 