Playing in front of their families, friends and supporters at Cape Town Stadium gave them a vital lift, but in the end the Springbok Women’s Sevens team just came short of replicating their performances from Saturday as they were beaten 21-19 by China in their final match of Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022, the Challenge Cup playoff for 13th position.

It was yet another spirited display by the host nation against a more experienced opponent – with both teams scoring three tries apiece – but in the end, China’s superior goal-kicking ensured they got the win.

After their 29-0 defeat on the opening day against France, who went on to play in the semifinals, the Springbok Women’s Sevens regrouped and put in three good performances, going down 14-12 to Japan – who recently qualified as a core team on the World Series – before beating Colombia (27-0) to set up the playoff against China.

The South Africans will probably admit they made one too many missed tackles, and the Chinese relished the more unstructured play, but the women in green and gold deserve a lot of credit for the way in which they kept on fighting back.

The Springbok Women’s Sevens started well, with Eloise Webb going over for their first try after just two minutes after a great “show-and-go” from an attacking scrum.

The joy was short-lived though as China hit back with two more tries before the break, by Chen Keyi and Zhao Ying, both coming from defensive lapses from unstructured play, with the women in red using their numerical advantage to good effect on both occasions.

From the restart, the South Africans reduced the gap to two points after Sizophila Solontsi put in a massive hit which dislodged the ball, only for Zintle Mpupha to grab it and go over for the try.

Nadine Roos converted to make it a two-point game at 14-12, but China stretched their lead to nine points when Sun Yue scored a converted try, again from broken field.

The South Africans had one final flurry that ended in a try for Marlize de Bruin, brilliantly converted by Roos from the touchline, but it was too little too late, and they had to settle for 14th position overall – the same as in San Francisco in 2018.

Afterwards, Webb said that they lacked a bit when it came to execution against China.

“I think that’s a big thing for our team, that we really have to work on,” said Webb.

“But we didn’t do too badly. Sometimes in the game, we really gave our best and that’s all that matters.”

Webb was also very happy with the support the team had received over the weekend, with supporters cheering them on from the stands.

“It was amazing – I don’t think we will ever be able to explain this experience,” she said. “It’s just been amazing with our fans, our families. We played for them each and every game and for one another and that’s the most important thing.”