Shaun Williams scored well after the final hooter had gone to give the Blitzboks a 26-19 win to bag the bronze medal on Saturday, South Africa’s first at the Paris Olympics.
After South Africa had taken what looked like an unassailable lead, and with Australia a man down after captain Nick Malouf was shown the red card for a high tackle, it looked like the game was all over.
🇿![CDATA[]]>🇦![CDATA[]]>🥉 Bronze for #TeamSA! 🥉![CDATA[]]>🇿![CDATA[]]>🇦
— Team South Africa (@OfficialTeamRSA) July 27, 2024
Historic moment as our Rugby Sevens team wins South Africa's first medal at #Paris2024!
Congrats to our heroes for their incredible performance and teamwork. Let's celebrate this amazing achievement! 🌟![CDATA[]]>🏉#TeamSA #ForMyCountry#Olympics pic.twitter.com/hi7nqqELWg
However, two quick tries for the Australians turned the game on its head. Corey Toole and Henry Paterson each crossed the line as they pulled level having being dead in the water at 19-7 down.
When the clock hit full time, the scores were tied at 19-all, but South Africa, crucially, secured the ball after the restart. After a number of phases, Williams found himself with some space to go through and dot the ball behind the line to give Philip Snyman’s men a famous win.
Earlier in the game, Zain Davids scored two quick tries as South Africa came back into the game having allowed Australia to open the scoring.
Olympic bronze in the bag for never-say-die #Blitzboks - more here: https://t.co/aF35LB3xji 🥉#PoweredByUnity @Olympics pic.twitter.com/ktnhimTKpB
In their first fame on Saturday, South Africa were beaten by hosts France, who took on Fiji and won the gold medal after winning the final 28-7.
The Blitzboks, who qualified for Paris via the back door, began their Olympic Sevens campaign with losses to Ireland and New Zealand, and had to dig deep against Japan to secure their place in the knock-out stages.
They followed that up with a win over New Zealand to set up their meeting with France.
IOL Sport