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Blitzboks crowned World Championship winners after Bordeaux drama
at Matmut Atlantique, Bordeaux
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South Africa have been crowned the 2026 HSBC SVNS World Championship winners during a dramatic day of action in Bordeaux. The Blitzboks nearly missed out on the quartersaltogether but have now earned the circuit’s top prize, having defeated Fiji 14-12.
Argentina were ranked second on the standings ahead of the season finale, but they were left to fight for ninth at the SVNS event after losses to France and New Zealand. Third-place Australia bundled out of World Championship contention with a quarter-final defeat.
That meant South Africa, who were preparing for a shot at revenge against Fiji after a thriller earlier on day two, were in control of their own destiny. If the Blitzboks beat Fiji, they would have guaranteed themselves the World Championship crown.
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Fiji opened the scoring with two quick tries, including one to Viwa Naduvalo in just the second minute. Naduvalo was shown a yellow card just before the break, with Sebastiaan Jobb touching down for South Africa in the final play.
Jobb raced away for his second of the match early in the second half, as the Blitzboks took the lead for the first time. South Africa had plenty of ball inside Fiji’s half but no more points were scored, seeing them through to the semis and securing the World Championship title.
The Blitzboks were the best men’s team throughout the regular season, taking out four of the six HSBC SVNS 1 events. South Africa earned the regular season title at SVNS New York and carried that dominance into the World Championship.
South Africa won the fan favourite Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens for the first time and made the big dance at SVNS Valladolid last weekend. They were regularly the team to beat at SVNS events this season and can now add the World Championship title to their list of successes.
“In South Africa rugby is like a religion,” South Africa’s Ricardo Duarttee told RugbyPass on day two in Bordeaux.
“Five out of seven tournaments, I think we can really be glad and be proud of what we did in this green and gold jersey.
“We’re not perfect but I think we gave it our best shot and at times we were the best, and at times there were teams that were just better than us on the day. But I think we are the best team in this division at the moment and we just have to start not just pitching up one day… every day being the best system in the world.”
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