World Rugby
The South African sevens rugby team qualified for the Paris Olympic Games by beating Great Britain 14-5 in the World Rugby Sevens Repechage final in Monaco on Sunday.
The Blitzboks completed a successful pool stage finishing top of Pool A after beating Tonga (31-7), and Chile (26-7) and defeating Mexico in the opening game on Friday (44-0).
They also had to overcome Uganda before facing Great Britain in the final.
Quewin Nortje opened the scoring after just two minutes for South Africa after a well-executed cross-field kick, with Great Britain replying through Robbie Fergusson in the right corner.
The Blitzbok's second try also came in the first half by Shilton Van Wyk who found the ball at full pace to take South Africa 14-5 ahead at the break.
“It’s a pretty special group we have here, just to cherish the moment is what we’re living for,” said Tristan Leyds in a post-match statement from World Rugby.
“There was a lot of external pressure, the people back home get disappointed [when we don’t perform], but we kept the group tight and it paid off, we qualified for Paris.
“To the people back home, thank you for supporting us and believing in us, we are going to take this energy to Paris.”
Teammate Rosco Specman said; “We have some pretty special youngsters in our team, they made us proud this week.”
The Blitzboks had to qualify for the Olympic Games after a disappointing HSBC SVNS tournament.
???? Congratulations to @Blitzboks on securing their spot as part of #TeamSA for the @Olympics! ????????????
— Team South Africa (@OfficialTeamRSA) June 23, 2024
Here's to another thrilling journey ahead! ???????? #Paris2024 #ForMyCountry #Blitzboks #TeamSA pic.twitter.com/DMOy2xtY4g
