PERTH, AUSTRALIA - FEBRUARY 08: SA team during the HSBC SVNS Series Australia men's semi-final match between South Africa and Australia at HBF Park on February 08, 2026 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by David Van Der Sandt/Gallo Images)
The Blitzboks are champions of Australia.
Coach Philip Snyman’s team beat Fiji 21-19 in a pulsating cup final in Perth on Sunday, to add to their triumph at the Cape Town Sevens in December.
It was the Blitzboks’ first cup final win in Australia since 2017. They had lost three finals since then as well.
In a thrilling final, the South Africans were 14-0 up in four minutes thanks to tries by Ryan Oosthuizen and Sebastian Jobb, both coming from turn-overs won and good counter-attacking play.
But just when it looked like the South Africans might run way with the game, Fiji hit back with two tries of their own, by Vuiviawa Naduvalo and Jerry Matana.
It was anyone’s game at the half-time break with the Blitzboks just 14-12 up and South Africa’s defence seemingly creaking, with a number of missed tackles costing Snyman’s team.
A try by Terio Veilawa two minutes after the restart put Fiji in charge of the match at 19-14 up, but a minute later Oosthuizen scored his second try of the game, after a powerful run close to the touchline, which proved critical. The corner conversion by Ricardo Duarttee, who’d also slotted his two earlier conversions, proved crucial and the difference between the teams in the end.
Fiji only managed two conversions of their three tries, the same number of tries scored by South Africa.
Earlier in the tournament in Perth, the South Africans beat Spain 33-14, beat Argentina 19-12, lost to Fiji 20-14, all in pool play on Saturday, and then beat Australia 28-12 in the semi-finals earlier Sunday.
The next tournament in the Sevens series is in Vancouver on the weekend of 7 and 8 March.
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