The Blitzboks were denied a dramatic draw in the HSBC World Championship final in Valladolid after the television match official ruled out a try scored after the final whistle for a forward pass from Gino Cupido.
Australia claimed their first tournament title of 2026 with a 26-19 victory, completing a double after their women's side had won gold earlier in the day. The Wallaby Sevens were the better side across the final, though South Africa had started strongly with early tries from Shilton van Wyk and Sebastiaan Jobb giving them a 14-0 lead.
Australia fought back through James Turner and Ethan McFarland to level the scores at half-time, exploiting 12 missed tackles by the South African defence. The second half belonged to the Wallabies, with Ben Dowling and player-of-the-final Henry Hutchison both crossing after Tristan Leyds was sin-binned for cynical play. The two tries during Leyds' absence gave Australia a 26-14 advantage.
Cupido scored with 40 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to seven points, and the Blitzboks appeared to have salvaged a draw when they crossed again after the hooter. However, the TMO intervened to disallow the score for a forward pass in the build-up, sending the Australian side into celebration.
Despite the defeat, South Africa remain top of the overall World Championship standings with 38 points, four ahead of Argentina and eight clear of Australia with one tournament remaining in France next month. The Blitzboks had beaten Argentina in an exceptional semi-final to reach Sunday's decider, but were unable to claim a sixth consecutive tournament title.