South Africa win SCC Rugby 7s

RUGBY

Singapore Cricket Club International Rugby 7s
Sunday, 28 October 07 at the Padang

Story by Lorna Campbell.

South African Vipers lifted the Ablitt Cup at the 60th Anniversary Singapore Cricket Club International Sevens today at the Padang by defeating 2006 Cup holders Ponsonby from New Zealand 50-0 in the final.

South African Danwell Demass on his way for his first try of the game inside 30 seconds of the start. © Leslie Tan/Red Sports

Heavy rain interrupted play late afternoon but it did not dampen the spirits of the crowd as they weathered the storm and gave the five finals their full support and energetic encouragement.

The thousands of fans were entertained to fine local and international performances with the host side collecting the jug and the Singapore Barbarians taking the bowl title.

“Alright, we both missed it.” Ponsonby (in white) beat Shark Academy (in blue) to enter the Ablitt Cup final. © Leslie Tan/Red Sports

South African Coach Paul Treu expressed his delight at attending their first ever SCC Sevens and lifting the prestigious Ablitt Cup: "It was our goal to win and we are proud to have our name on this fantastic trophy.

We have come here with nearly half of the national squad players and we were keen to set the standard and continue the success of South African rugby. This has been the perfect preparation for the IRB World Sevens Series and we couldn't have asked for a better tournament."

A South African Viper player is caught moments later and just misses out on a try in the semi-final game against a Fijian club side. © Leslie Tan/Red Sports

Springbok sevens players Danwell Demass and Fabian Juries each scored three tries in the one-sided final and gave them a comfortable lead of 26-0 at half time.

Ponsonby Coach Jack Huch acknowledged the calibre of opposition today: "They were just too good. We were beaten at the breakdown and after the first two tries we just didn't seem to recover.

A South African Viper wins a line-out during the semi-final game. © Leslie Tan/Red Sports

We are a young side and it was good to benchmark ourselves against an international team like South Africa. They were well prepared, quick and extremely accurate in their skill execution."

Twenty-eight teams from thirteen countries formed the strongest line up in the tournament's sixty year history.

Final Results:
Jug: Singapore Cricket Club 5 Arabian Gulf 0
Bowl: Singapore Barbarians 12 Gove 0
Shield: USA Eagles 19 Hong Kong Dragons 5
Plate: Te Papapa Barbarians 10 Impala (Kenya) 5
Ablitt Cup: South African Vipers 50 Ponsonby (New Zealand) 0

Te Papapa Barbarians of Tonga (in yellow and black) beat Impala of Kenya 10-5 to win the Plate Final. © Leslie Tan/Red Sports

No, there’s nothing wrong with your eyes. That’s the actual size of the rugby ball – an inflatable. With the games suspended because of heavy rain and lightning, bored players and spectators put up an impromptu game with a rugby inflatable, much to the amusement of the crowd. © Kennie Pan

The “Queen” of England showed up and the English in the stands broke out in the national anthem. The “Queen” later showed the way and jumped over for a try. © Leslie Tan/Red Sports