South Africa’s men’s rugby sevens team secured a bronze medal at the Olympics, with Philip Snyman achieving bronze as both a player and a coach, and Rosko Specman earning his second bronze as a player, after a dramatic comeback against France.
Paris, France (28 July 2024) – We won a medal! A bronze in Men’s Rugby Sevens, adding to the one they won in Rio 2016. Philip Snyman has now won Olympic bronze as both a player and a coach, while Rosko Specman has two as a player.
A Rough Start and Post-Match Interviews
The afternoon started off rough with a 5-19 loss to France and the 69,000-capacity crowd. The first half was scoreless for us, but we silenced the crowd by scoring first in the second half. As soon as the French got the ball, it felt like we had no chance, conceding 19 unanswered points.
The team management asked not to be interviewed due to the quick turnaround between games, and I respected that. However, I decided to attend the French side’s interviews. I understood none of it until Antoine Dupont was asked to answer a question in English. I was on the wrong side of the scrum to hear the question but was measured in his response, noting that he has “mixed emotions because, you know, we want the gold medal. Obviously, there is still one more game, and we have to stay focused if we want to win tonight against a big team.”
Watching the Semi-Finals and the Bronze Medal Match
The other semi-final, Australia vs. Fiji, was still being played at the time. It was fascinating, at least to me, watching Dupont and a member of the coaching staff watch their opposition play, discussing lines and dissecting plays. At least, that’s what it looked like. I was technically close enough to hear, and there wasn’t a crowd, but I don’t speak French. They were rather expressive. It also meant that I got to congratulate Dupont on their victory and get a picture.
Then came the bronze medal match. The players were introduced individually, and the biggest cheer from the crowd came when the ref, Frenchman Jeremy Rozier, was announced. If you were watching at home and wondered what the crowd was shouting as the game went on, it was his name.
We went down 0-7, then came back, scoring an unconverted try just before halftime to make it 5-7. A try and a red card to the French team had us at 12-7. Then a converted try took us to 19-7. You might think the game was in the bag with three minutes to go, but France came back with a converted and an unconverted try of their own, levelling the scores with 47 seconds to go. But with the clock in the red, a breakaway by Selwyn Davids, who gifted the try to Shaun Williams, sealed the game and the medal for South Africa.
Gold and Silver Medal Winners
The gold went to France, who did indeed stay focused. They handed Fiji their first defeat in Olympic sevens history, ending their 17-match winning streak in the games. Antoine Dupont was lifted aloft, and rightfully so. The man is a magician. Silver went to Fiji, who have been magnificent, but this was France’s Olympics in the sevens. Credit to them.
Reflecting on the day’s other Notable Moments
With that, the South African men’s rugby sevens team won their third game of the tournament, losing the same amount but doing it when it counts.
Watching the NZ Rugby Sevens team’s joy as they beat Argentina to get to the 5th place play-off shows just how much pride is involved in top-level sport.
When introducing the French team for their Rugby Sevens semi-final against South Africa, it was rather sweet to hear the commentator read only the first names of the French team as the crowd responded with each player’s surname in chorus. “Allez Les Bleus” rang out as rain came down.
Japan bowed to the crowd from every side after their portion of the competition concluded. They did their lap of honour with Uruguay while Kenya and Samoa duked it out on the field, with the crowd’s volume fighting each other in waves of support.
It was also cool to have Bob Sinclar as the resident DJ for the competition.
Lovely to see that both the 12 players and the two reserves got medals as all 14 were on the podium, so we didn’t have to have a Francois Hougaard type having to give up his medal. Jordan Sepho was just a delight on the podium for France, celebrating each of his teammates by raising his hands in the air.
Looking Ahead to the Ladies’ Tournament
Next, we have the ladies’ tournament with South Africa taking on Australia on 28 July at 16:00 and Ireland at 19:00. Their final pool game is on 29 July against Great Britain at 14:00. They are not favoured to win any of their encounters, but as their male counterparts have shown, you only have to win one to give yourself a chance. They did beat Great Britain in the Perth leg of the World Series.
We can’t wait to see who else will join them on the podium throughout the games. And neither can Coach Phillip Snyman who told me before the games that is looking forward to the swimming and supporting Team SA.
Zareena Gaibee will be on the ground in Paris for the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics events, sharing her take on the prestigious sporting event, giving exclusive insights into life at the games, and hopefully meeting many of the South Africans in Paris who are competing and supporting. She will be reporting her findings for Good Things Guy, giving readers a glimpse of what flying the flag in Paris is all about.
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Sources: Zareena Gaibee
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