Australia claimed their first HSBC World Championship title with a dramatic 26-19 win over South Africa in the final in Valladolid on Sunday, but the Blitzboks were left heartbroken after the television match official disallowed a last-gasp try.
The Blitzboks had crossed the line after the final whistle to level the scores, only for the TMO to intervene and rule out the effort for a forward pass from Gino Cupido in the lead-up. The decision sent the Wallaby Sevens into celebration and completed a double for Australia, whose women's side had claimed gold earlier in the weekend.
South Africa had started strongly, with Shilton van Wyk and Sebastiaan Jobb both crossing in the opening minutes to establish a 14-0 lead. Van Wyk's try came from a set move with Selvyn Davids, whilst Jobb finished after a good run by Ryan Oosthuizen. However, Australia fought back through James Turner and Ethan McFarland to level matters at the break.
The second half belonged to Australia, particularly after Tristan Leyds was sin-binned for cynical play. In the two minutes he was off the field, Australia scored twice through Ben Dowling and player-of-the-final Henry Hutchison to race to a 26-14 lead. Turner was red-carded with 90 seconds remaining, and Cupido's try cut the deficit to seven points before the Blitzboks' final, disallowed effort.
Despite the loss, the Blitzboks maintain their overall series lead with 38 points, four ahead of Argentina and eight ahead of Australia, with one tournament remaining in France next month. The defeat marked the second time Australia had beaten South Africa in Valladolid, having also prevailed in their pool match on Saturday.