GARY LEMKE in Paris
Team SA are on the medals board at the 2024 Paris Olympics thanks to an after-the-hooter Shaun Williams try gave them a 26-19 win over Australia at a packed Stade de France on Saturday night.
They had lost 19-5 to hosts France in the semi-final but only hours later regrouped to beat their fierce rivals and claim the bronze medal. Men’s rugby sevens also won bronze at the 2016 Rio Games.
Gold was won by France, captained by Antone Dupont, and lifted by an expectant 60,000 crowd who had come out on a wet and overcast day to support their side. They came from 7-0 down to upset Fiji 28-7.
The Mexican Wave started soon after kick-off as the crowd continued their party, but on the field it was Australia who struck first. They took advantage of a South African knock-on in their own 22 to break the line and Nathan Lawson ran 70 metres to dot down under the posts.
It was important for Team SA to strike back and they did, with Selvyn Davids producing a bit of magic with a chip and chase. He gathered the bouncing ball skilfully and went over. The conversion missed and Australia went into half-time 7-5 up.
Toto’s “Africa” blared out at the interval, which suggested the DJ has a soft spot for the 15-man world champions, and their sevens brothers in green came out full of energy. They earned a scrum inside their own half, which turned into a penalty. From the quick tap and same passage of play the ball was ferried to the right where Zain Davids finished off the move.
During the play Carton Malouf recklessly clattered into a tackle and the TMO review rightly said there was no mitigation and he was red-carded. That left South Africa 12-7 up against six-men with four minutes remaining.
Davids then went over for his second try in quick succession. The conversion by Tristan Leyds was again successful and with three minutes remaining Team SA had stretched out to a 19-7 lead. It’s a lead that would only be threatened by two tries. Surely no? However, Australia fought back. They produced their own kick and chase and Corey Toole went over, with the conversion successful and it was 19-14 and 70 seconds to negotiate. But, they were rocked again by their six-man opponents, although the scores were 19-19 and the hooter sounding immediately after the restart.
There was still one chance to collect and work their way upfield and so it proved as the ball reached Shaun Williams down the left and he sprinted clear of clutching hands to cross the line and dot down under the posts. It was a bronze but it felt like gold.
Earlier South Africa had gone down 19-5 to France in the semi-finals.
Over 60,000 spectators had braved the wet weather to come cheer on their home heroes, and adding edge to the contest was the fact that it was the Springboks who had broken their hearts in the very stadium in last year’s World Cup.
Now, for them, it was payback time. Boos rang around the stadium as each South African player’s name and photo came onto the big screen at the team announcement minutes before the start.
The French were well acquainted with South African rugby’s powers of recovery. They’d seen it up close at the Rugby World Cup they’d staged last year, when the Springboks pipped them by one point in the quarter-finals before going all the way to lift the trophy.
Team SA had reached the semi-finals having lost their first two pool matches, 10-5 to Ireland and 17-5 to New Zealand, before rebounding with wins over Japan (49-5) and New Zealand (14-7).
So, here we were on a wet Saturday afternoon, the day after the opening ceremony, hoping that the sevens men would guarantee Team SA’s field medal of Paris 2024. The players charging out of the opposition changing room and out to receive the adulation of a buzzing home crowd were the French, led by their own golden boy, Antoine Dupont.
In a move opposite to France’s strategy leading into the semi-final where he had been substituted in the second half, they started him on the bench. It was clearly a move designed to produce an impact in the second half.
The first half flew by in a heartbeat and although Team SA were camped in their opponent’s 22, they were unable to breach the last French defences and the teams switched halves at 0-0.
Within a minute after the restart he ran on to the park to thunderous applause, still 0-0. However, the French players were nervous, and it showed, They spilled a pass in midfield on their 22, giving South Africa a scrum with five minutes remaining. From that scrum the ball found its way out to Leyds on the right and he went over in the corner, for 5-0.
Four minutes to go. Time to defend (and attack) and put their sore bodies on the line. With three minutes left, the hosts broke the line for the first time in the match and rounded off under the posts. The conversion was routing and France had their noses in front at 7-5.
The hosts then went on the front foot, with the roars of the crowd putting air under their wings. 7-5 soon became 14-5 with a minute left on the clock. It was game, set and match and a try after the hooter only served to add gloss to the scoreline.
Photo: ROGER SEDRES/Team SA
