Cape Dreams News from in and around the Cape
10 December 2023 – Argentina claimed the HSBC SVNS 2024 series crown in Cape Town with a clinical win over Australia, a week after losing to South Africa in Dubai.
It was a fitting end to a weekend in which Los Pumas’ veteran Gastón Revol played his 100th tournament, and German Schulz scored his 100th international sevens try as the South American squad laid down a marker with a first-ever win in South Africa.
Argentina were just too good for Australia as they added Cape Town gold to the silver they won in Dubai a week previously.
German Schulz opened the scoring with a long run-in, with Santiago Mare, Marcos Moneta and Matías Osadczuk also touching down in the first seven minutes as Australia struggled to keep pace with Los Pumas Sevens in the first period.
Australia’s cause was not helped when Nick Malouf was sin-binned for a high tackle.
They finally got on the scoreboard in the second half, as Nathan Lawson and Dietrich Roache cut the deficit. But player of the final Osadczuk’s second, his fourth in Cape Town, settled matters.
Tomas Elizalde and captain Santiago Alvarez’s late scores were the icing on the cake, as they rounded off the tournament with a 45-12 win.
“I love, too, the way they play,” Los Pumas Sevens’ coach and former player Santiago Gomez Cora said. “We said they’re crazy because you put all the passion – they know how to play, obviously – they are a team that feel the way that they play. They’re a little crazy to play in that way.
“We’re delighted because we feel at home here in Cape Town. They support us, so thank you very much, everyone – I hope to see you next time.”
Los Pumas Sevens had reached the final for the ninth time since Seville 2022, with an organised 26-19 win over Ireland. The scoreline would have been more convincing had the Irish not run in two scores in the final minute when the match was already lost.
James Turner described Australia’s 24-7 semi-final win over Fiji to reach their first-ever sevens final in South Africa as “pretty special”.
“We had a slower start last week, and this week we wanted to aim up,” he said.
Earlier, Argentina’s Schulz had dived spectacularly under the posts to score his 100th sevens try as Los Pumas Sevens eased past day one’s surprise package Canada 33-0 in their last-eight match.
Text and picture source: HSBC SVNS 2024 series