HARRISON, New Jersey (AP) — South Africa won the 2026 men’s World Rugby sevens series, holding out against a late rally from Fiji on Sunday to win the final at the last tournament of the regular season.
Fiji and South Africa were tied atop the season standings heading into the New York Sevens, making the final also a series decider.
South Africa scored the only try of the first half through Selvyn Davids and increased its lead to 10-0 with a try to Tristan Leyds two minutes into the second half.
Fiji rallied with a try to Terio Veilawa to cut the margin to 10-7 with two minutes remaining. The Fijians had the last possession of the match and were five meters from the South African line when a knock-on ended their attack and ensured South Africa won the final and the series.
“It was just a massive, massive defensive effort,” South Africa captain Impi Visser said. “Fiji brought out the best in us.”
“It’s funny that it all came down to the final,” added Visser, who played his 50th World Series match in the final. “It’s like someone scripted it, and couldn’t have scripted it better.”
New Zealand rallied from 21-5 down in the second half to edge Australia 22-21 in the women’s final. Australia and New Zealand have contested all six finals on the World Series this season with New Zealand winning five.
New Zealand had already won the women’s World Series title when it qualified for the semifinals, gaining enough points to establish an unassailable lead. The New Zealand Black Ferns still wanted to finish the regular season with a win and did so in remarkable circumstances.
For Australia, Teagan Levi scored two tries and her sister Maddison Levi scored one to give their team a 21-5 lead two minutes into the second half.
New Zealand rallied with tries to Alena Saili and Kelsey Tineti, who also scored in the first half, to make the score 21-15 and give themselves a chance of winning.
Jorja Miller won a penalty from a breakdown turnover in the last minute and Katelyn Vahaakolo scored the try close to the posts which was converted to give New Zealand the victory.
“I think for us, even before the game started, we knew it was all going to be about heart,” New Zealand captain Risi Pouri-Lane said. “Final footy can go either way and we all know that. But to grind it out when the odds may not be in your favor is what counts.
“But the belief within every single person beside you is huge.”
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AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby
