Two first half tries for Preez cancelled out an early New Zealand lead before Brown broke through the All Black's defensive line midway through the second half to seal the win for his side and deny the visitors a fifth successive title in South Africa.

"This whole weekend has been difficult to put into words," said Brown following the victory.

"From Friday to playing so well yesterday and carrying that momentum into day two.

"Last year we lacked consistency, and this is what we are aiming for, just going up and up and up.

"But we are just over joyed here.

"To play in this stadium on such an emotional weekend, this is the best feeling in the world right now."

A second half try from captain Kyle Brown completed a dramatic comeback for the home nation ©Getty Images



The victory leaves South Africa just two points behind New Zealand in the HSBC World Sevens Series standings after three rounds, with Fiji a further eight behind them and England another eight behind in fourth.

Following their victory in Dubai last week, Fiji made up for a disappointing quarter-final defeat to Samoa in the Cup by beating France in an enthralling Plate final.

After dominating Kenya 52-5 in the semi final, despite being down to six men for the majority of the game, Donasio Ratubuli and Benito Masilevu scored a brace apiece in the final to see their side to a 45-19 victory over a strong French outfit.

A disappointing defeat to Argentina on the first day left the Bowl and eight World Series points the only thing left on offer for the England team.

They responded well however with victories over Scotland, the United States and Australia enough to secure coach Simon Amor his first piece of silverware since taking over as coach in September.

England travelled home with the Bowl after a disappointing first day defeat to Argentina left them out of contention for the Cup ©IRB/Martin Seras Lima



"Our performance on day one was disappointing and we didn't meet the standards we'd set in the first two legs but I'm pleased with the courage shown by the players after that to grind out three decent results," said Amor.

A try by Lee Jones and two from Scott Riddell secured a Shield victory for Scotland as they beat Canada 19-12, despite a second half comeback led by an inspired Phil Mack.

The teams will now head to Las Vegas after Christmas for round four of the Series with the fifth leg taking place in Wellington at the beginning of February.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


Related stories
December 2013: Tributes paid to Mandela at Rugby Sevens World Series event
November 2013: Fiji win first Emirates Dubai title in 15 years
November 2013: Australia's women stun New Zealand to take sevens season opener in Dubai
October 2013: All Blacks Sevens pick up where they left off last season with victory at Gold Coast
October 2013: Defending champions New Zealand off to a flier as Rugby Sevens World Series gets underway Down Under