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Blitzboks and Australia win gold at Dubai SVNS
By Ian Cameron
The Blitzboks and Australia Women have won the Dubai SVNS, kicking off the new HSBC SVNS circuit in style in the Middle East.
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In the men’s final, South Africa scored twice in quick succession to take an early lead that was never assailed by fellow finalists Argentina. Impi Visser scored first, wriggling over on the three-minute mark before Shilton Van Wyk made it two after cutting through the middle of Argentinian’s defence from close range.
The South Americans fought back bravely with a well-taken try from Matias Osadczuk, which was converted by Santiago Mare, but despite their best efforts, they ran out 12-7 losers.
“It is very special. It’s a great turnaround for the guys because last season we weren’t on par, there were a lot of youngsters and you could see the youngsters have improved,” Rosko Specman told RugbyPass.
“The guys are sticking to the system now and they work for each other, as you saw today, when the guys break the line the guys are chasing. They’re working for one and not as individuals.
“It’s something happening now in the team.
“As you saw this year, the Springboks won the World Cup back-to-back and that is the drive that we have now. We also want to be number one in the world again.”
In the women’s final an inform Aussie side proved deserved winners in a closely fought 26-19 victory over the Black Ferns 7s.
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A try from Bienne Terita, a brace from Teagan Levi and one from the tournament’s leading try-scorer Maddison Levi proved decisive for the girls in green and gold. A hattrick from New Zealand’s Jorja Miller wasn’t enough for the Black Ferns in what was a ferocious competitive final.
“I’m pretty excited especially about getting Player of the Final. I think it shows that hard work really does pay off and not just me but the whole team, we’ve worked really hard this whole preseason,” Teagan Levi told RugbyPass.
“To come out here and get the win is awesome and such a surreal feeling.
“Individually it’s really exciting to see what this year holds for me. I think I’ve worked really hard in preseason but once again I wouldn’t have been able to do it without my coaching staff and the team around me.
“We have some of the best talented athletes in the world in our team and some of the most amazing staff and I think they’ve really put us to the test this preseason.”
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Oh, sweeeeet 😁
Back to back RWC champions. And now the Blitzbokke, after a horrible 2022/3 season, are back!
Life is good 😄