Shaun Williams deserved the try, says captain Davids after handing ball over

Paris — Blitzboks captain Selvyn Davids had the chance to score the winning try against Australia in the bronze-medal match in Paris on Saturday, but instead handed the ball to teammate Shaun Williams to dot down.

Davids, the team’s top try-scorer of the competition with four tries, ran around the final defender down the left touchline and cantered unchallenged into the in-goal area, where he gave the ball to Williams to claim the five points, his only try of the competition.

The scores had been locked at 19-19 at that stage and the converted try made it 26-19 for SA.

Davids, who had scored earlier in the match, said he believed Williams had done the real work earlier in the movement before he received the ball.

“Shaun deserved a try more than myself. I was just there on the outside receiving the ball.

“It was an empty try-line, or there was no-one in front of me, so I just thought, ‘well, you deserve this more than what I do’ so I just handed the ball to him.”

Teammate Zain Davids also claimed two tries, including one in which he got his foot to a falling ball and kicked it ahead to score.

It was a moment of magic in which he had a split second to react and got it absolutely right.

“It was just instinct,” said Davids, who finished with three tries in all.

American Perry Baker finished with the most tries, six, which was enough to finish as joint top-scorer on 30 with Iowane of Fiji.

Tristan Leyds was SA’s highest points scorer on 28, with two tries and nine conversions.