London Cup Champions: South Africa!

South Africa beat Fiji 24-14 to win the 2011 Emirates Airline London Sevens.

New Zealand also clinched a ninth Sevens World Series title by beating Argentina in the Cup quarter finals on a weekend which saw the attendance exceed 100,000 at Twickenham.

Samoa defeated 2010 London Sevens champions Australia in the Plate final to collect 12 points, Scotland claim four Series points after a dramatic 21-19 victory against Kenya in the Bowl final and England end a disappointing weekend at Twickenham with some silverware, beating Portugal 22-7 in the Shield final.

South Africa’s victory means the race for second place in the Series behind New Zealand will be a four-way battle at next weekend’s Emirates Airline Edinburgh Sevens involving England (121), South Africa (116), Samoa (112) and Fiji (110).

“Assassin with a smile” Frankie Horne again had a storming tournament at Twickenham

Quotes

Paul Treu, Coach

“We never panicked when we fell behind and I’m proud that we stuck to our game plan. We knew we had to frustrate Fiji, to deny them space and to make them work for the ball. They are their best when counter-attacking and we could not afford to give them any space at all.”

“You cannot play them on the touchlines, because if you do that you chase them all day long. Our physical strength at the breakdown was the deciding factor and the guys showed great courage and character. We still have one more tournament to go in Scotland and our job is by no means over.”

Kyle Brown, Skipper

“This was a huge effort and the guys showed character and belief, especially after we made two mistakes early on which allowed them to score. We managed to pull ourselves together and knew that we had the courage and determination to succeed. You just cannot give those guys space to move and, thankfully, we managed to get our first-time tackling spot on, which proved vital in the end.”