The Blitzboks suffered a semi-final defeat to France at the Bordeaux Sevens on Sunday.
The hosts triumphed 21-12 and will meet New Zealand in the final (5:41pm SA time), with South Africa relegated to the third-place off against Spain (4:32pm SA time)
Having edged Fiji 14-12 in their quarter-final on Saturday to secure back-to-back SVNS World Championship titles, the Blitzboks faced a France team with the full backing of the home crowd.
And France struck first when a handling error from Sebastiaan Jobb gifted a try to Enahemo Artaud, with Rayan Rebbadj adding the extras.
The Blitzboks hit back immediately through Tristan Leyds and Ricardo Duarttee’s touchline conversion levelled the scores.
The Blitzboks silence the home crowd with a lethal counter
Stream #HSBCSVNS on DStv: https://t.co/0P0NNhnwKw pic.twitter.com/4QJshntYRb
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An excellent cover tackle then prevented Jobbs from scoring in the same corner.
France regained the lead early in the second half when Rayan Rebbadj rounded off an attack in right-hand corner and Artaud nailed the conversion.
The hosts then shoved the Blitzboks off their ball at the breakdown and Antoine Zeghdar cantered over to make it 21-7.
Listen to the roar in Bordeaux
The French stretch their lead to 14 with just over three minutes to play
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) June 7, 2026
Donavan Don scored South Africa’s third try but Duarttee’s conversion went wide.
Photo: David van der Sandt/Gallo Images
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The Blitzboks suffered a semi-final defeat to France at the Bordeaux Sevens on Sunday.
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