One of the most dominant runs in the history of the Commonwealth Games has come to an end amid the drizzling twilight of Ibrox Stadium, with South Africa ending New Zealand's iron grip on the Rugby Sevens gold medal.
On a ground famous for its Old Firm derbies, the South Africans showed there was a new player in town with a 17-12 win that saw New Zealand's win streak abruptly end at 30.
The men in black hadn't lost a single match since the sport was introduced at the Commonwealth Games in 1998 and cruised to the decider with a straightforward win over Australia, who would go on to defeat Samoa and take the bronze.
But South Africa had been the most impressive team here all week and turned that promise into paydirt in the decider. They raced out to a winning lead and held on late as New Zealand huffed and puffed but couldn't deliver the knockout blow. Not even the early loss of influential skipper Kyle Brown, who was replaced after just two minutes with nasty-looking shoulder injury, could stop them
Seabelo Senata was the star for the Africans, scoring twice to take his tournament tally to 11 and helping his side take two steps up the podium after taking out bronze in Delhi in 2010. They also have the honour of being the first and only side to beat New Zealand at Commonwealth Games sevens.
The final capped off a hugely succesful weekend of Sevens Rugby in Glasgow. Almost 180,000 fans attended the four sessions and Ibrox was the hottest venue in town as the great old ground became a hive of music, partying and quality rugby.
Sevens will make its Olympic debut in Rio in two years time.
Earlier, Australia defeated Samoa 24-0 in the third-place playoff.
Liam Gill and Greg Jeloudev earned a start for Australia in a reshuffled line-up from the one that lost to New Zealand but they weren't able to crack the Samoan defence until the final minute of the first half, when Jeloudev blasted down the right flank for the opening try.
The speedy Jeloudev had a double less than a minute later as the Australians raced to a 10-0 lead at half-time.
A simple try to Gill, on the back of some strong work from Sean McMahon, put the result largely beyond doubt just a few minutes into the second half.
Samoa never gave up in their pursuit of the 17-0 deficit but the clock was always going to be their enemy. Sam Myers nailed the coffin shut with a late try.
The result sees Australia slip one rung down the medal ladder after claiming silver in Delhi in 2010.
with AFP
