The Blitzboks went all the way down to Eire to finish a disappointing weekend within the Spanish capital for South Africa on the ultimate day of the Sevens Grand Finale on Sunday.
Tries from Zac Ward and Harry McNulty, plus a Hugo Lennox conversion, powered the Irish right into a 12-point half-time lead on the Civitas Metropolitano Stadium earlier than surviving a fightback from the South Africans to safe a 12-7 win.
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Impi Visser pulled one again for the Blitzboks after the restart, and Rosko Specman added the extras nevertheless it was too little, too late for Philip Snyman’s expenses.
South Africa beat Australia 24-21 to e-book a spot within the fifth-placed decider, having already dropped out of the cup title race after failing to register a pool stage victory over the course of the three-day match.
The Blitzboks will now refocus on the Sevens Repechage in Monaco from 21 to 23 June, of their closing bid to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Picture: Denis Doyle/Getty Pictures