Boks halt New Zealand in Adelaide
Bok Shock: South Africa has broken New Zealand's hegemony on the silverware
New Zealand's impressive winning run was brought to an abrupt end as South Africa took the title at the IRB World Sevens Series event in Adelaide on Sunday.
The New Zealanders had won all five previous tournaments this year and took their sequence to 47 consecutive victories with successes over Tonga and Fiji to reach the Final.
But Fabian Juries grabbed two tries in the final to secure a 15-7 triumph for the Springboks in a carnival atmosphere of over 17,000 fans at the Adelaide Oval,
Wales were the only Home Nation with anything to celebrate after taking the Shield title with a 12-7 victory over Canada.
They had earlier condemned England to their fifth consecutive loss of the weekend while Scotland beat Wales 17-12 in the quarter-finals of the Bowl but lost 29-14 to the USA in the last four.
In the cup semi-finals, the New Zealanders saw off defending Adelaide champions Fiji with the last play of the match, before the Boks won through in sudden death extra time.
A last-gasp try by Zar Lawrence saw the kiwis home against Fiji, 17-14, after they trailed for much of a tight and scrappy match.
Lepani Nabuliwaqa looked to have gifted the Fijians a first victory against their great rivals since last year's Adelaide event but first Solomon King and then Lawrence hit back to break their hearts. Earlier a late DJ Forbes try had kept New Zealand's quest for an eighth straight title intact as they came from behind to beat Tonga 19-14 in a thrilling Cup quarter final.
South Africa first beat off the challenge of Kenya, 19-5, before Fabian Juries chased and touched down his own kick to score the winner for the Boks in sudden death extra time against the Samoans.
Tonga and Kenya both won through to the final of the Plate with respective victories over Australia and the Cook Islands.
Two tries to Vaea Poteki gave the Tongans a 14-7 half time lead against the hosts and a Teu Nafe try in the second half ended their hopes.
A Chris Wyles hat trick inspired USA to a 29-14 win against Scotland and a bowl final against Argentina, for whom captain Santiago Gomez Cora was impressive in their match against France.
In the Shield, Phil Mack scored a first half try for Canada, who then enjoyed the lion's share of possession and territory and looked to have the game in the bag before Richie Pugh broke clear on the final hooter to run 60 metres and score under the posts and level the match.
In a breathless sudden-death extra-time James Lewis latched on to wide ball and take the spoils for Wales.
Canada had earlier seen off the challenge of Japan, while Wales beat England, who went without a single win for the first time ever in an IRB Sevens event.
Cup quarter-finals:
Samoa 48-0 Cook Islands
South Africa 19- 5 Kenya
Fiji 28-7 Austlalia
New Zealand 19-14 Tonga
Cup semi-finals:
South Africa 17-12 Samoa
New Zealand 17-14 Fiji
Cup Final:
New Zealand 7 South Africa 15
South Africa have done what no side has been able to do all season and beaten defending Series champions New Zealand in the Final of the Fairmont Homes Adelaide Sevens.
Fabian Juries scored twice in the final to give the Boks the edge as they ground out a hard-fought 15-7 win to consolidate their position as second in the IRB Sevens World Series and end the Kiwis' unbeaten streak of 47 straight matches, during which time they have won seven back-to-back Cup titles.
New Zealand are still well ahead in the overall race for the Series crown on 126 points with South Africa 34 points behind on 92, 18 points clear of Fiji in third. Mathematically, New Zealand now need just seven points from the London event in May to tie up their Series defence.
Robert Ebersohn was first on the scoreboard in the final and Fabian Juries also crossed to give Paul Treu's side a 10-0 lead at the break.
Victor Vito struck back for the Kiwis in the second half but South Africa succeeded in denying New Zealand too much ball and avoided the confrontational, physical type of game on which they have thrived all season.
With the game fascinatingly poised, Juries broke clear late on to seal victory for the Boks.
Plate semi-finals:
Kenya 26-14 Cook Islands
Tonga 21-7 Australia
Plate Final:
Kenya 12 Tonga 14
Tonga recovered from the disappointment of their slender loss to New Zealand in the Cup quarter-finals by holding on in the face of a late Kenya rally to take the Plate title in Adelaide and eight points towards the Series.
The Tongans, who were outstanding throughout the tournament, took an early lead through Peasipa Moimoi and although Peter Ocholla pulled one back for the Kenyans to level at 7-7, Ualosi Kailea scored just before the break. Crucially Poteki made both conversions for the islanders for a seven-point lead.
In the second half Collins Injera scored out wide for the increasingly professional and polished African side but the conversion went wide and Tonga held on in the dying seconds to protect their two-point lead and seal victory.
They earlier won through to the final with respective victories over Australia and the Cook Islands.
Bowl quarter-finals:
Wales 12-17 Scotland
USA 26-19 England
France 28-19 Canada
Argentina 24-12 Japan
Semi-finals:
USA 29-14 Scotland
Argentina 24-12 France
Bowl Final:
USA 21 Argentina 26
Argentina won a superb exhibition of running rugby against the USA to land the bowl title in Adelaide.
The Pumas led 12-7 at the break, Bruzzone and del Busto scoring one apiece to Malifa's effort for the States. Santiago Gomez Cora touched down for his 191st career try to stretch the lead but first Jone Naqica and then Todd Clever scored to edge the USA ahead.
In a breathless finale Gabriel Ascarate crossed to give Argentina the title, and two points for the World Series.
Shield semi-finals:
England 14-19 Wales
Japan 19-24 Canada
Shield Final:
Canada 7-12 Wales
Phil Mack scored a first-half try for Canada, who then enjoyed the lion's share of possession and territory and looked to have the game in the bag before Richie Pugh broke clear on the final hooter to run 60 metres and score under the posts and level the match.
In a breathless sudden-death extra-time James Lewis latched on to wide ball and take the spoils for Wales.
Canada had earlier seen off the challenge of Japan, while Wales beat England, who went without a single win for the first time ever in an IRB Sevens event.
With thanks to the IRB