Fabian Juries was the two-try hero as South Africa ended New Zealand’s unbeaten 47-match streak by winning the final of the Adelaide World Series Sevens 15-7 on Sunday.
The South Africans, beaten 26-12 by New Zealand in last weekend’s Hong Kong Sevens, turned the tables with the flying Juries scoring two of his team’s three tries to topple the runaway series leaders.
South Africa took an early 10-0 lead with two unconverted tries from Robert Ebersohn and Juries, but had to withstand a determined second-half fightback from the Kiwis.
Powerhouse Victor Vito muscled his way over for a converted try shortly after half-time to make the score 10-7 and put the Kiwis within range of salvaging the final.
But Juries, the player of the tournament, settled the issue with his second try to bring off the mighty upset.
South Africa, coached by Paul Treu, reached the final with a 19-5 win over Kenya in the quarterfinals and knocked over Samoa 17-12 in the semifinal.
New Zealand had a struggle to reach the final, needing a late Zar Lawrence try to overcome 2007 Adelaide champions Fiji 17-14 in the semifinals and relying on another late try by skipper DJ Forbes to edge out Tonga 19-14 in the quarterfinals.
The South Africans showed more verve and pace in the final, often catching out the Kiwis with swift ball movement and superior pace.
Tonga won the Plate final, beating Kenya 14-12, while Argentina downed the United States 26-21 in the Bowl final.
Wales won the Shield final, defeating Canada 12-7. — AFP
