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Blitzboks into another SVNS Cup Final but ‘bogey team’ stands in the way


South Africa and Australia at SVNS Valladolid. Picture: World Rugby.
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South Africa are through to another HSBC SVNS decider after beating Argentina 19-7, but their “bogey team” stands in the way of glory. The Blitzboks were the top-ranked World Championship side ahead of SVNS Valladolid and will extend their lead regardless of the Cup Final result.

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Sebastiaan Jobb and Ricardo Duarttee touched down for a try each as the Blitzboks took a lead into the business end of the contest. South Africa controlled possession in the dying stages and were rewarded, with Ryan Oosthuizen sealing the result with a 14th-minute effort.

The Blitzboks were crowned regular season champions and carried that dominant form into the World Championship, winning the Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens for the first time. They have given themselves yet another opportunity to claim silverware.

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But the Blitzboks will need to overcome a confident Australian side, who are the last unbeaten team standing at SVNS Valladolid. Australia handed South Africa their sole defeat of the event so far during the pool stage, setting the stage for another instalment in this already fierce rivalry.

“Obviously they beat us in the pool stages, they beat us in New York so they’ve been a bit of our bogey team. They’re a quality side we really need to fix our errors, look after the ball, make our tackles, just play quality rugby,” Oosthuizen told RugbyPass in Valladolid.

“The past two days we weren’t happy with our performances… when the pressure is up, then we perform. But when you go through motions, it’s almost like we don’t pitch up. It’s probably a mental thing we need to focus on and get over with.

“Luckily when the crunch time is there we pitch up. It’s not gonna be easy against Australia, we really need to pitch up and bring our A-game.”

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Australia punched their ticket to the big dance with a  21-14 win over Fiji in the first men’s semi-final, with three-time Olympian Henry Hutchison running in a double. James Turner also got on the scoresheet as the men in gold claimed a statement result.

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With Argentina, Spain, New Zealand and Fiji bundling out before the Cup Final, the big dance in Valladolid features the first and sixth ranked sides on the World Championship standings. South Africa will increase the gap between them and second, regardless of the result.

“It’s quite boring, we always say we focus on the next game so it’s probably boring for you news reporters but really it is like that,” Oosthuizen said.

“All focus on Australia. If we can beat them, then obviously we’ll extend our lead over Argentina. That will put us in good stead to do the last [event] in Bordeaux.”

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Australia have plenty to play for ahead of SVNS Bordeaux next week, which is the final stop of the season. If they get the job done against the South Africans, they will receive maximum points and surge as high as possible up the ladder.

The World Championship winners will be crowned in Bordeaux, while the top eight will earn core status for the 2026/27 SVNS 1 season. But the four sides that finish in the bottom four will be left to fight their way back up from the second division next season.

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GrahamVF 1 hour ago
Jake White renews calls for Springboks to be forced to play from home

Absolutely agree H. Some of our best coaches are overseas getting paid decent wages. Johan van Graan and Franco Smith the two most high profile but there are others Shaun Sowerby and Hein Adams both at Bordeaux. It can only be money. I don’t think the current top four coaches are up to the same standard as some of the South Africans coaching overseas. My experience in coaching is that there are three year natural cycles, Year one - re-alignment. Bringing in the new ideas anc coaching prioroties. Very often the first season is punctuated by losses trying to adapt form the old to the new ways. Year two the team gels around the new ways and beginning to achieve near their potential. Year three the peak of the new methods. But this is the year when inevitable the form of good players begins to attract offers from greener pastures and key players leave with the inevitable decline in results. It happened to me when I coached Kloof Senior Primary when we beat some very established teams like Cordwalles Highbury and WP Prep, Hugh Reece Edwards was rugby director at Westville and four of my key players left for bursaries there with the inevitable fall in results. It happened again when I was manager of the Hillcrest Villagers - after gaining entry to the premier competition when we beat teams like Harlequins complete with Vleis Visagie and Robert du Preez - low and behold that HR Edwards then became coach of Crusaders and would you believe it - four of our key players went there at the end of the season together with three or four others who retired, and of course we were relegated.

So - the fact that Rassie has managed to hang on players and develop others to fill the inevitable gaps and the fact that he has a wide spread of ideas besides his own I think is key to the continued - and long may it continue - success of the Boks. Our retreads are useful to fill gaps until others develop and also to act as player/mentor/coach such as Os du Rand and Frans Steyn so the mix is good but you can’t rely solely on those players like The Sharks do. I think mostly the others are getting there. Hope so.



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