Human the star for Powell’s champions

– Livewire Dewald Human was the stand-out performer for the Blitzboks who clinched a second consecutive World Rugby Sevens title in Paris on Sunday.

Human, 23, in the team for the injured Branco du Preez, only made his debut two months ago in Hong Kong.

He was again in try-scoring form in the final and was delighted to be voted Player-of-the-Final.

“It’s been a fantastic experience here. I backed myself and just enjoyed every minute on the field. We stuck to the game plan and are very happy with the win.”

The victory in Paris, where the Blitzboks also won last year, saw Neil Powell’s team move past Fiji on the overall standings and retain their champions’ status.

Fiji held a seven-point lead before the final tournament, but they faltered on the second day by losing in the quarterfinals to England.

This opened a small window of opportunity for the Blitzboks, which they took in dominant fashion, sealing the double victory with a magnificent 24-14 victory in the final against England.

Powell was humbled by his team’s achievement but heaped praise on their efforts on the final day of an eight-month, 10 tournament series.

“You have to feel for Fiji, who won five tournaments, only to come up short by two points in the end, but this is also a massive reward to our Springbok Sevens and SA Rugby Sevens Academy system.

“There are so many people working so hard for this team and the squad here today rewarded all of them.

“This is a massive credit to our system and we are all very proud to be part of it,” Powell said.

The Blitzboks qualified for each of the 10 semifinals during the series.

They won in Dubai and Paris and were runners-up in Sydney, Hamilton and London. They won bronze in Cape Town, Vancouver and Hong Kong and were fourth in Las Vegas and Singapore.

South Africa finished the series on top with 182 points, followed by Fiji who took silver with 180 points and New Zealand in third on 150 positions after claiming the bronze medal in Paris with a 38-5 victory over Canada in the third-place play-off.

All attention now turns to the Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018 in San Francisco from July 20-22, where 24 men’s and 16 women’s teams will battle it out to become world champions. – ANA