Australia’s gold rush has continued in Valladolid as the Men’s side held on for a thrilling 26-19 win over South Africa.
A cruel finish loomed for the Aussies after James Turner’s late red card saw the South Africans launch a late comeback.
Watch every second of the 2026 SVNS World Championship live and on demand via Stan Sport.
Shilton van Wyk looked to have sent the game into extra-time with a late try, however, the TMO rightfully spotted a forward pass in the build-up, sending the Aussies into wild celebrations.
It’s the Men’s first title since 2022 and the first time Australia has won both events since 2018, following the Women’s earlier victory over the USA.
Liam Barry’s side entered the Final full of confidence after their unbeaten tournament continued with a 21-14 win over Fiji in the semi-finals.
This included a 24-14 victory over the Blitzboks in the group stages, topping their pool after earlier wins over Kenya, whom they’d also beat in the quarter-finals, and Great Britain.
Like their earlier match, they were forced to rally from an early deficit after two dropped restarts allowed Shilton van Wyk and Sebastiaan Jobb to score within minutes of each other for a 14-0 lead.
But the Aussies rallied behind their skipper and Player of the Final, Henry Hutchison, to score 26 straight points.
James Turner got the Australians on the board with a minute left in the first half, bursting through a pair of tackles for the five pointer. The Aussies were level on half-time when Ethan McFarland powered over for a timely try, his first of the weekend.
The massive turning point of the match came after the break as Tristan Leyds was yellow-carded for a cynical foul, with Hutchison producing the tackle and Wallace Charlie drawing the foul.
It allowed the Aussies to strike twice with the player advantage, Hutchison and Ben Dowling crossing for the late lead.
There was one late twist to come when Turner was red-carded for a high shot on Jayden Nell following a desperate defensive sequence that looked to have delivered an Australian turnover.
With Turner off the field, South Africa scored through Gino Cupido, reducing the lead to seven as they claimed the restart as time expired.
The Blitzboks spread the Australians open and seemed to have sent the game to extra-time through van Wyk, but there was a forward pass from Cupido in the build-up.
Whilst not initially called, the TMO intervened right before the conversion, denying the try and sending the Aussies into emotional celebrations.
Victory sees Australia leap into third in the overall World Championship table, only trailing South Africa and Argentina ahead of the final leg in Bordeaux.
