Blitzboks down Ireland to claim fourth straight Dubai Sevens crown

The Blitzboks are back in business after clinching a fourth consecutive Emirates Dubai Sevens title with a 21-5 victory over Ireland on Saturday.

Earlier in the day, the South Africans outplayed Samoa and New Zealand for a place in the final, with the win edging them towards the top spot on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series log, alongside Australia.

The victory is also a first for the new coaching regime of Sandile Ngcobo and his assistant, Philip Snyman.

The final started in spectacular fashion with Shilton van Wyk blitzing the Irish defence with a sharp break and he finished under the sticks, giving Ricardo Duarttee the easiest of conversions.

Van Wyk, who was named Player of the Final, was soon at it again, again slicing through the opponent™s defensive line with Duartee™s conversion pushing the lead to 14 points.

That was also the halftime score and as expected the Irish came back strong in the second half. Their early endeavor were dealt a cruel blow when Siviwe Soyizwapi intercepted a pass and ran all of 60 meters to score. Duarttee extended the lead to 21-0.

The South Africans were starting to concede a number of penalties on defence and Ireland managed a score when Jack Kelly after 11 minutes of play. The last three minutes were played in the middle of the field, with a strong South African defensive effort keeping Ireland at bay to score a famous win.

For Soyizwapi, the effort was expected.

"We had a hard chat after our defeat in the first round against Great Britain," he said. "There are so many good sides in the world series and you need to be sharp in every match.

"We decided to get stuck in and that delivered some fantastic performances. I am really proud of the squad and everyone involved."

Scorers

Springbok Sevens 21 (21) - Tries: Shilton van Wyk (2), Siviwe Soyizwapi. Conversions: Ricardo Duarttee (3).

Ireland 5 (0) - Try: Jack Kelly.