England silenced a raucous home crowd after shocking South Africa 19-17 to win an enthralling Cape Town Sevens final.
The Blitzboks were in imperious form heading into Sunday’s decider, but tries from Richard de Carpentier, Dan Norton and Ruaridh McConnochie were enough to give England a narrow victory.
A total of 108,941 fans attended Cape Town stadium over the two days of action and, while it wasn’t the result the home fans were looking for, the drama undoubtedly provided value for money.
Trailing 12-5 at half-time, South Africa — the defending champion in Cape Town — flew out of the blocks and leveled the score soon after the restart.
England, without a tournament win since Tokyo in April 2015, rallied and McConnochie went over to restore its lead.
In a dramatic finish, Werner Kok scored as the final hooter sounded and Justin Geduld was given the unenviable task of making the conversion from wide on the touchline to take the match into extra time.
However, Geduld hooked his kick wide of the posts and a jubilant England team celebrated as it climbed to within two points of South Africa at the top of the standings.
“It was a tough tournament, to back up last weekend (reaching the semifinals) I am so proud of the boys,” England captain Tom Mitchell told World Rugby.
“We trained all summer and this makes it all worth it. We were a bit disappointed last weekend and we wanted to put it right.
“It’s been a bumpy road but it always is. It was a pleasure to play in this stadium.”
The next round takes place in Wellington on January 28-29 and New Zealand prepared for its home leg with a hard-fought third-place win over Scotland.
Although disappointed not to make the final, the Kiwis’ 14-7 semifinal defeat to South Africa was a stark improvement on the 40-point hammering it received last weekend.
Scotland led twice in the play-off, but a try from Jonathan Ruru in the dying seconds ensured New Zealand remains unbeaten against its opponent for 36 games.