The Blitzboks finished runners-up in Valladolid on Sunday, going down 26-19 to Australia in the HSBC SVNS final, with a TMO ruling denying them a potential equaliser in the dying seconds. Despite the defeat, SA retain the overall World Championship lead on 38 points, four clear of Argentina (34) and eight ahead of Australia (30), with the final tournament in Bordeaux still to come.
The final turned decisively in the second half. SA had raced to a 14-0 lead through tries by Shilton van Wyk and Sebastiaan Jobb — the latter set up by a strong run from Ryan Oosthuizen — but Australia clawed their way back before half-time, with James Turner scoring and Van Wyk's missed-tackle opening the door. Twelve missed tackles in total hamstrung the Blitzboks throughout.
Australia capitalised ruthlessly after Tristan Leyds was sin-binned for cynical play early in the second half, scoring twice in his two minutes off the field to lead 26-14. Turner was then red-carded with 90 seconds remaining, and Gino Cupido reduced the deficit to seven. With the clock in the red, Cupido appeared to score the equaliser, but the TMO ruled an earlier pass forward, ending SA's hopes of a sixth consecutive tournament title and handing Australia their first win of 2026.
Earlier in the day, the Blitzboks had beaten Argentina 19-7 in a semifinal that was level at 7-5 at half-time. Jobb opened the scoring with a well-taken finish in the corner, Argentina responded through the posts to lead 7-5, and the match remained in the balance until the bench made its mark. Ricardo Duarttee produced a stunning solo effort after Oosthuizen stole a lineout throw, and Oosthuizen himself finished on the wing to seal progress. Argentina have now lost six consecutive matches against SA.