Siviwe Soyizwapi’s converted try at the death enabled the Blitzboks to beat Fiji 12-10 in the final of the Oktoberfest7s in Munich on Sunday.

Soyizwapi scored a try in the dying seconds of the match – cleverly running closer to the posts – and Dewald Human duly converted to catapult their side onto the top of the podium and a well-deserved win.

Scores were tied 5-all at the break, with each side scoring a try, but when Fiji scored with three minutes left, it was left to Soyizwapi and Human to create some magic and add to the team’s silverware.

For Blitzboks coach Neil Powell, it was a pleasing outing, as they achieved many of their objectives on the trip.

‘We came here to work on our structure and game plan and although we won the final, it’s still early days in our season and we’re not yet where we want to be. Nevertheless, it was a great effort from the boys out there today,’ Powell said.

‘It’s never easy against Fiji. If you give them possession and you allow them to play, they will punish you. It’s always tight against them, and there is usually only two to five points in it – today was no different and I think it was an amazing final.’

Earlier in the day, the South Africans had to survive two late tries from Germany in the semi-finals of the tournament, winning 17-12.

Powell was pleased with the effort on the day.

‘I can’t fault the guys for the amazing character they’ve shown out there today. We’ll never go into any tournament not hoping to be successful and while we we’re not as sharp as we should be, we’re still very happy with the win,’ he explained.

‘We knew we were going to make some mistakes as the players are still settling into their roles and responsibilities, but this has been a great way to build up to the World Series.’

Photo: Jan Perlich