Free State triumph over the Sharks in Bloemfontein for sevens glory
Free State has been crowned champions in Bloemfontein after defeating the Sharks in a final that lived up to all of the drama and excitement of the 2023 Interprovincial Sevens Tournament.
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The Free State team, made up of mostly Grey College players who would have been at ease on their home turf, saved their best performance of the tournament for the final to beat the Sharks by a single point, 15-14.
The Sharks looked set to reclaim the trophy they won in 2019 after having been forced to hand it over to Eastern Province last year.
The boys from the KZN moved through the group stages unbeaten, seeing away with an exciting Boland team by 26-19 and scoring 91 unanswered points in their next two games against the Limpopo Blue Bulls and the Griffons Invitational team.
Free State struck early in the final though, with Junior Titoti, from Fichardtpark, drawing the first blood and Grey College’s Philip Mclaren following up with another try to give the hosts a 10-0 lead.
Mathew Fick reduced the deficit to three points just before halftime when he scored a brilliant individual try from his own half.
The Sharks were smelling blood in the second half and had the locals under pressure, but Grey College’s Ruben Cilliers scored to give the Free State a much-needed buffer.
The visitors kept asking questions of the Free State defence until the Westville Boys’ High flyer, Zekhethelo Siyaya, finally got over to get the Sharks to within a single point with about 30 seconds left to play.
The Free State boys managed to control the ball from the kickoff though and saw out a big victory to claim the sevens bragging rights for the next year.
Mclaren was phenomenal in the final, and his captain Liam Santos and their hot-stepping teammate, Alzeadon Felix, who are both also from Grey, were among the standouts in the Free State team throughout the tournament.
The road to the final was less glamorous for the champions, they were caught out by Griquas in the pool stages by 20-12. The Griquas also held the Blue Bulls to a 17-all draw and missed out on qualifying for the Cup quarter-finals on points difference alone.
Boland made the Free State sweat in the semi-finals.
Last year’s runners-up from the Boland played brilliantly to keep the hosts busy in the penultimate round, coming up just short by 12-10.
The Lions cut the Blue Bulls’ campaign for the cup short in the quarter-finals but were no match for the Sharks in the semis.
The team from Pretoria went on to win the Plate by beating Eastern Province comfortably by 31-5 and the Lions finished third overall after finishing on a high against Boland by 26-10.
The matchups and rivalries were equally exciting right through the rankings.
Even in the playoffs for third place in the Shield divisions, the Falcons beat the Free State Invitational team in an epic rematch of their battle during the group stages, with the Falcons increasing their margin over the Free State second team to 38-17 after their pool match was decided by only two points.
All the results:
Pool Stages
Pool A: Eastern Province 17, Leopards 14; Golden Lions 36, Namibia 5; Golden Lions 33, Eastern Province 12; Leopards 17, Namibia 7; Eastern Province 40, Namibia 12; Golden Lions 42, Leopards 19.
Pool B: Sharks 26, Boland 19; Limpopo Blue Bulls 33, Griffons Invitational 19; Boland 45, Griffons Invitational 0; Sharks 45, Limpopo Blue Bulls 0; Boland 31, Limpopo Blue Bulls 10; Sharks 46, Griffons Invitational 0.
Pool C: SWD 41, Falcons 0; Free State Invitational 17, Griffons 7; Griffons 19, SWD 12; Falcons 19, Free State Invitational 17; SWD 24, Free State Invitational 18; Griffons 31, Falcons 12.
Pool D: Free State 26, Blue Bulls 14; Pumas 19, Griquas 12; Blue Bulls 31, Pumas 12; Griquas 20, Free State 12; Blue Bulls 17, Griquas 17; Free State 29, Pumas 12.
Quarter-finals
Bowl: Pumas 27, Leopards 0; Griquas 45, Namibia 22; Limpopo Blue Bulls 38, Falcons 17; Griffons Invitational 33, Free State Invitational 14.
Cup: Golden Lions 19, Blue Bulls 14; Free State 22, Eastern Province 0; Sharks 17, Griffons 0; Boland 33, SWD 5.
Semi-finals
Shield: Leopards 24, Falcons 10; Namibia 5, Free State Invitational 0.
Bowl: Limpopo Blue Bulls 12, Pumas 10; Griquas 22, Griffons Invitational 17.
Plate: Blue Bulls 38, Griffons 12; Eastern Province 26, SWD 7.
Cup: Sharks 31, Golden Lions 14; Free State 12, Boland 10.
Finals
Shield: Leopards 31, Namibia 19; (Third place) Falcons 38, Free State Invitational 17.
Bowl: Limpopo Blue Bulls 43, Griquas 7. (Third place) Pumas 33, Griffons Invitational 5.
Plate: Blue Bulls 31, Eastern Province 5; (Third place) SWD 21, Griffons 17.
Cup: Free State 15, Sharks 14; (Third place) Golden Lions 26, Boland 10.
