A look back at some of the most memorable storylines that didn’t get told during the World University Rugby Sevens Championship in Swakopmund

The victorious South African team and their coach, Pieter van den Berg, at WUC Rugby Sevens in Namibia

Ahead of the 8^th edition of the FISU World University Rugby Sevens Championships in Swakopmund, Namibia, Team South Africa boldly announced that their target was to at least make the final.

Not only did they do that – by the skin of their teeth however, after a narrow 14-12 win over France in the semi-finals – but they managed to go all the way, ending the tournament on top of the podium as eventual winners of the competition.

 South Africa endured a bruising semi-final encounter, narrowly beating France

En route they demolished China 66-0 in what was the highest scoring game of the tournament, while also overcoming a very strong and resilient Australian side twice – once in the pool stages in a come-from-behind win, while the other came in the final itself, as the South Africans turned on the heat in a well-deserved 24-14 win in the gold medal match.

Coach Pieter van den Berg was brought to tears after the victorious final as the emotions got the better of him.

South Africa’s winning coach, Pieter van den Berg, showed his emotions after the final.“It was a great game, and a great competition overall,” he said. “I’m filled with a lot of emotion, and just glad we could do the country the honour it deserves. A very high level of rugby was played here, especially in the semi-finals and finals.”

One of the pre-tournament favourites ahead of the championships, South Africa – as a traditional rugby powerhouse – was able to utilise a number of senior national team players in the University Championship squad, and despite a strong squad on paper, they still had to get the job done on the field.

“We were lucky enough to include some athletes in our team that already have senior international caps, but they were all qualified students,” the coach said. “We were playing against very strong Australia and France teams, and knew these teams would bring it to us, and the competition was tough, so I’m just glad that things worked out for us.”

Van den Berg feels the Games were of utmost importance for the future of rugby sevens players, and says his side thoroughly enjoyed their time in Namibia.

“It’s an immensely important tournament,” he said. “These are South Africa’s future senior national team players, and this was a great opportunity to show what they’ve got and the talents they can showcase on a stage like this, so it was an awesome experience for everyone involved.

“The organisation was great, with a lot of positives. Obviously with a competition of this magnitude there will always be a few hiccups here and there, and I’m sure the organising committee will learn from that as well, but overall we are happy and we enjoyed our stay here.”

Following their success in Swakopmund, Team South Africa now has their eyes on an even bigger prize: gold at the 2019 Summer Universiade in Napoli, having ended fourth at the last games which hosted Rugby Sevens in Kazan 2013.

 The Australian and South African players embrace at mid-field after the final

“The plan going forward is for this team to participate in the Summer Universiade in Italy,” Van den Berg said. “There’s also a few university competitions happening in South Africa itself such as the University Sports South Africa (USSA) tournaments and the Varsity Cup, so from there we’ll hopefully then be able to go and play in Italy next year and be as performance-oriented as we are at the moment.”

The rest of the Rugby Sevens world is on notice.