Southern hemisphere dominates latest HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series!

Summary - South Africa and Australia are celebrating after a dramatic final weekend in Paris concluded the 2018 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series.

This month has seen the final two rounds of the HSBC World Sevens, with the southern hemisphere continuing to lead the way in both the men's and women's games.

Following the London edition at the start of the month, last weekend in Paris (June 8th-10th) brought a thrilling climax as South Africa retained the men's World Series title by just two points from Fiji.

To do so, they had to beat England in the final of the Paris Sevens and they duly ran out 24-14 winners, pipping the Olympic champions to the prize.

Having beaten Spain 15-10 in the quarter finals in the most dramatic fashion as Justin Deguld scored the winning try in overtime, South Africa overcame New Zealand with a storming 24-12 win. Dewald Human scored two tries against the Kiwis and another in the final to continue his meteoric rise, having only made his debut in Hong Kong two months earlier. South Africans and pun-obsessed headline writers alike will hope this is the start of a long and successful career.

Speaking after the final, Human said: "It’s been a fantastic experience here in Paris. I backed myself and just enjoyed every minute on the field. We stuck to the game plan and are very happy with the win."

Fiji's own Paris hopes were ended by England, who edged them out 19-17 in a thrilling quarter-final. However, emphatic wins over Ireland and the US put them back in the box seat despite finishing fifth overall in the French capital.

England defeated Canada 26-12 to reach the final and give themselves a chance to end a relatively disappointing campaign on a high. Instead, it was the Springboks who took their chance to secure another gold medal, ending on 182 points compared to Fiji's 180.

Commenting on the outcome, South African skipper Philip Snyman said: "We wanted to go out and play some fantastic rugby and focus on what we could control. The guys played phenomenal rugby and all credit to the team.

"We just did the simple stuff and played with smiles on our faces today. It’s an amazing feeling representing such an amazing country and the people back home never stopped believing in us and supporting us."

Despite their final appearance, England could only finish fifth on 122 points, one behind Australia in fourth. New Zealand ended in third on 150.

There was a similar picture of southern hemisphere dominance in the women's game, with Australia coming on top despite losing the Paris final 33-7 to New Zealand. The Aussies finished on 92 points, two clear of their antipodean rivals. It may be that the Wallabies relaxed somewhat after their dramatic semi-final win over France, when a last-gasp try prevented a home win.

The French went on to lose the third-place play-off to Canada, but were already assured of the bronze medal in the World Series, with the Canadians in fourth.

England endured a disappointing tournament and series, finishing in eighth place on 32 points. This was below Russia and Spain, although Fiji and Ireland also underperformed, finishing in ninth and tenth places respectively.