As South Africa romped towards a historic Hong Kong Sevens title, Dave Wessels issued a plea for caution.
"It is not over yet," South Africa's high performance boss told anyone who could hear in the stands of a heaving Kai Tak Stadium.
Only it was, as the Blitzboks completed a 35-7 rout of Argentina in the men's final.
Watch the 2025-26 World Sevens Series with every match streaming live and on demand on the home of rugby, Stan Sport
Wessels' reluctance to go the early crow was understandable.
The mild mannered coach sat through countless second half heartbreaks in his previous jobs at the helm of the Western Force and the now defunct Melbourne Rebels.
Heavy player turnover and off-field woes were a constant thorn in the side of those two clubs and Wessels returned home to Cape Town in 2021.
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After being headhunted to a national role by Springboks supremo Rassie Erasmus, Wessels now masterminds the most dominant force in rugby.
"I go way back with Rassie, to those early Stormers days," Wessels told Wide World Sports on the pitch as the fireworks crackled.
"I feel very lucky to be involved in this era. Rassie is obviously very clever but what stands out to me is his incredible passion for the game. But we need to stay humble because we know how fast things can turn in sport."
It is incredible that it took 50 years for South Africa to win the major title in Hong Kong.
They lost to Spain on day one and were almost stunned by Kenya in the quarter-finals before pulling off a miraculous comeback.
"I'm almost speechless," coach Philip Snyman said.
"There is a massive feeling of pride and gratitude at this moment. We waited so long for this. We will just relax and enjoy and celebrate tonight. Fifty years was a long time to wait for this.
"The book on Hong Kong 2026 might not have had six perfect chapters (games), but what a great ending to the story."
South Africa were joined on top of the podium by New Zealand's champion women's team, who beat Australia 19-14 in the final.
It was New Zealand's fifth straight tournament win and fourth consecutive Hong Kong success.
Australia coach Tim Walsh again bemoaned small errors that had "big consequences" as Jorja Miller outshone fellow superstar Maddison Levi.
"We're a really young, new group, so there's huge respect for all the ladies that are off pregnant and retired and all of that," ex-highland dancing star Miller told Wide World of Sports.
"Beating Aussie will never get old. There's so much competition in the squad that we will all stay hungry. I want another gold medal in LA (Olympics in 2028)."
A mammoth 113,395 thirsty fans piled into the stadium across the three-day tournament.
Perhaps the biggest cheer of the whole event came as Hong Kong, China's men surged to their third consecutive Melrose Claymores victory by beating Japan.
"We love Hong Kong. The fans came out today and they're always our eighth man on the field. Every pass, every part of the game they're cheering for us, so that helped us through massively," captain James Christie said.
"The tournament has been huge – last year was good but every year it just seems to get better and better. I don't know how they do it. It's amazing to win on the 50th anniversary – cheers to Hong Kong, Hong Kong China Rugby and the Hong Kong Sevens as well."
The action now heads to Spain in May.
Sam Worthington travelled to the 2026 Hong Kong Sevens thanks to the Hong Kong Tourism Board and Cathay Pacific
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