Australia's men's Sevens side has finished fourth at the Rugby Sevens Paris Olympics in a heartbreaking finish, going down 26-19 to South Africa after the siren.
John Manenti’s side were forced to fight with six players for the majority of the second half after a red card to captain Nick Malouf.
Down 12 points, the Australians battled their way to level, before South Africa scored after the siren for the win.
The Blitzboks looked to start fast against the Australians, with John Manenti’s side turning defence into attack for the opener.
A loose ball ten metres out from their line was kicked up by Nathan Lawson to Ben Dowling, with Dowling and Dietrich Roache combining to put Lawson into space for the try.
South Africa hit back as captain Selvyn Davids produced a lovely chip and chase to get them on the board and down two at half-time.
The turning point of the game came just after the break as South Africa went on the attack.
Captain Nick Malouf went to put a big shot on but got his timing wrong, collecting the attacker in the head.
As the play progressed, what appeared to be a forward pass put Zain Davids into space as South Africa hit the front.
Malouf was red carded from the field and Davids’ second try extended the lead.
The Australians refused to give away in typical fashion and Corey Toole’s chip and chase gave hope before Henry Paterson’s try with 45 seconds to go had suddenly brought life into the Australian fans and players.
But a cruel ending was on the cards as Selvyn Davids raced down the sidelines and passed off to Williams for the winner a minute after time had expired.
The Australians found themselves in the bronze medal match after a 31-7 defeat to the Fijians in the semi-finals.
They gave themselves a chance heading into the break after Ben Dowling’s solo effort had them level 7-all into half-time.
However, the restart game was their undoing. The Australians dropped four restarts as Fiji dominated the territory to run away with the contest and score 31 unanswered points.
