South Africa won the gold medal at this year’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham with a 31-7 win over Fiji in the final at Coventry Stadium on Sunday night.
It is the second time the Blitzboks have won the competition having also been crowned champions at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
Muller du Plessis leads the way
South Africa beat Fiji five tries to one in the final with Muller du Plessis leading with a deserved double. JC Pretorius, Shaun Williams and Mfundo Ndhlovu also crossed the whitewash while Williams had two conversions and Dewald Human also added a two-pointer.
Fiji fought hard for the ball, especially in the first half and led 17-0 at half time. For the Pacific Islanders, their captain Waisea Nacuqu scored a consolation try in the second half.
The victory was very special for the Blitzboks as they were without skipper Siviwe Soyizwapi and star playmaker Ronald Brown, who were both ruled out through injury.
Soyizwapi was sidelined on Saturday and Brown suffered the injury in South Africa’s semi-final triumph over Australia Sunday afternoon.
The Blitzboks trailed early in the encounter after Mark Nawaqanitawase crossed for an early try, but Angelo Davids, who finished as the tournament’s top try scorer with 10 tries, fought back when he crossed the blank.
The remainder of the first half was a close affair as Matthew Gonzalez as Davids scored on further tries which meant the teams were tied at 12-12 at halftime.
It was all South Africa after the break and they clinched their place in the final after Selvyn Davids came through and his namesake, Angelo, sealed his hat-trick and victory for his side in the closing stages of the match.
The other semi-final was a tense affair which went into extra time with a golden point try from Nacuqu helping Fiji to a 19-14 win over New Zealand.
Australia win women’s final
In the women’s final, a pair of tries from Faith Nathan helped Australia triumph 22-12 against Fiji.
The result was significant as it was the first time Australia’s women won a Commonwealth Sevens gold medal after having to settle for silver on home soil on the Gold Coast in 2018.
New Zealand won the bronze medals for both men and women, having beaten Australia and Canada in their respective third/fourth play-offs.
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