South Africa SVNS classics: Ryder magic, New Zealand topple the hosts

South Africa has been a leg on the SVNS circuit since the competition’s inception in 1999.

The tournament was first held at Stellenbosch in 1999 before being moved to Durban for the next two seasons. For nine seasons from 2002 until 2010, it was held at George in the Western Cape, before moving to Port Elizabeth for the 2011 edition and Cape Town from 2015.

A women’s competition started in 2019 with New Zealand beating Australia in the 2019, 2022 and 2024 finals. Australia won an absolute classic against France in 2023.

2005: The Birth of William Ryder

Fiji won three of the first six South African Sevens tournaments, including the inaugural event in 1999, despite the absence of talisman Waisale Serevi due to a hand injury.

Instead, Filimoni Delasau shone, scoring a record 13 tries in a single tournament as Fiji rallied from behind at halftime to defeat New Zealand 12-10 in the final.

Heading into the 2005 event, Fiji had not won an SVNS cup title since 2002. However, their victories over New Zealand and England in the knockout phase ensured they advanced to the final against Argentina, which had been upset by Wales in pool play but later defeated New Zealand.

Fiji took a 14–0 lead in the decider after just five minutes, but Argentina struck back, taking a 19–14 lead with two tries from Tomás de Vedia and another from Ramiro del Busto.

Fiji needed a spark of inspiration, and it came from “Twinkle Toes” William Ryder. Dubbed Serevi 2.0 for his famous goose step, Ryder made his debut for Fiji in 2005 and seized the moment when he weaved through the Pumas’ defence to score near the posts, allowing Serevi to convert the try.

Ryder ignited a Fijian resurgence. Fiji won the SVNS league title for the first time in the 2005/06 season and also claimed victory in the 2005 Rugby World Cup Sevens in Hong Kong. Over his decorated career, Ryder scored 987 points (105 tries) for Fiji. Remarkably, at the age of 43, he was still playing for his club, UsoTasi, in the Solomon Islands.

2008: South Africa Wins on Home Soil for the First Time

After nine unsuccessful attempts, South Africa at last won their home tournament for the first time in 2008. In a thrilling final held in George, South Africa came from behind to defeat the defending champions, New Zealand, 12-7.

New Zealand captured the lead first with a try from their captain and World Rugby Hall of Fame inductee, DJ Forbes. However, Renfred Dazel levelled the score just before halftime, leaving South Africa trailing 7-5 at the break. Dazel was nominated for the World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year in 2008 and currently coaches the South African women’s Sevens team.

In the second half, South Africa dominated, spending much of the time in New Zealand’s 22. Their efforts paid off when Mzwandile Stick broke through the defence and scored a decisive try with just two minutes left on the clock. Stick captained the South African team and has served as a backs coach for the Springboks since 2016.

From 2004 to 2013, the Blitzboks were coached by former captain Paul True, who led South Africa to their first World Series win in 2008/09.

South Africa has won its own tournament five times, with three consecutive wins from 2013 to 2015, during which Rugby World Cup winners Kwagga Smith (62 Tests, 45 wins) and Cheslin Kolbe (49 Tests, 37 wins) featured.

2011: New Zealand topples South Africa in a Thriller

The All Blacks Sevens have achieved 11 tournament victories in South Africa, but their success in 2011 at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth, witnessed by 30,000 spectators, might be the sweetest of them all.

New Zealand cruised into the semifinals, outscoring their first four opponents 146-12. In the semifinal, England proved a tough challenge, but New Zealand secured a 19-14 victory.

In the final against South Africa, New Zealand took the lead twice in the first half with tries from captain DJ Forbes and halfback Tomasi Cama. However, South Africa responded both times with tries from Bernardo Botha. Frank Halai’s long-range run brought New Zealand back into the game, giving them a 17-14 lead at halftime.

After the break, South Africa built a lead with tries from Steven Hunt and Cecil Afrika. Halai responded once again for New Zealand, narrowing the deficit to just two points.

In the final play of the match, New Zealand kicked a loose ball upfield, scoring a match-winning try from their current coach, Tomasi Cama, who finished the tournament as the leading points scorer with 50 points.

Afrika was named the World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year for the 2011/12 season, and Halai crossed for ten tries throughout the tournament.

Halai represented the All Blacks Sevens in 15 tournaments, scoring 65 tries, which contributed to their victories in the 2010-11 and 2011-12 World Series. In 2013, he played his only Test for the All Blacks, achieving a 54-6 win over Japan in Tokyo.

New Zealand and South Africa have split three finals at the South Africa Sevens.

The 2019 final ended in a similarly dramatic fashion, though that tussle in front of 50,000 people at Newlands in Cape Town was a low scoring affair.

Justin Geduld propelled South Africa ahead after a first half stalemate with an unconverted try. Had it not been for try-saving tackles from Kurt Baker and Regan Ware, South Africa would have been out of touch.

With three minutes to play, New Zealand toiled gamely to enter the hosts 22 and a lightning step by Ngarohi McGarvey-Black finally opened South Africa up. A conversion by Baker ultimately won the match, 7-5.

2023: Australia Survives Red Card to Foil France

Australia made history by becoming the first team, apart from the Black Ferns Sevens, to win the South Africa Sevens when they defeated France 29-26 in a dramatic final, even after being reduced to six players when Maddison Levi was sent off.

Levi had already scored two tries before being sent off for a dangerous shoulder-led tackle. In pool play, she had become the fastest player to reach 100 tries in women’s World Series matches.

During the finals, she excelled again, scoring two tries in the 24-14 quarterfinal win over Ireland and contributing to another in the 33-5 semifinal victory against the USA.

Her two tries in the final brought her tournament-leading total to nine and, along with first-half scores from Faith Nathan and Sharni Smale, put Australia ahead 22-0, seemingly in control of the match.

However, momentum shifted when Levi was shown a red card for a reckless challenge on Camille Grassineau. This allowed France to rally, narrowing the deficit to 22-14 by halftime thanks to two tries from Anne-Cécile Ciofani.

Playing the entire second half with only six players, Australia showed remarkable resilience. They initially held off the French attack until Caroline Droulin and Carla Neisen broke through their defence. In a pivotal moment, newcomer Kaitlin Shave made a brilliant run down the left side, scoring a crucial try with just two minutes remaining.

France reached the final for only the third time in their history by upsetting New Zealand 24-12 in the semifinals. The Black Ferns had reached 14 consecutive finals and won 11 of them, but this marked the first time since the 2017-18 season that they went back-to-back tournaments without a title.

In the semifinal, France jumped to a 12-0 lead at halftime, but New Zealand fought back to level the score with tries from Michaela Blyde and Portia Woodman-Wickliffe. Although France lost Caroline Drouin to the sin bin, they managed to regain the lead with a crucial try from Camille Grassineau in the final moments, sealing New Zealand’s fate.