New Zealand has slumped to fourth at the latest leg of IRB World Sevens at Cape Town, bowing to the home team 10-5 in the bronze-medal playoff.
Ravaged by injury after winning at Dubai last week, the All Blacks Sevens were on the back foot throughout the South African tournament, upset by Samoa in pool play and needing to beat the 'Blitzbokke' to progress on points differential.
They overcame Australia 26-17 in the quarterfinals, but their hopes of a defending their title from 12 months earlier ended with a 31-12 defeat by the United States in the semis.
By the time they met again in the third-place playoff, New Zealand and South Africa - the two old rugby rivals - were exhausted and the standard of play reflected that.
Sione Molia struck first, with a try that - tellingly - went unconverted from handy to the posts.
The All Blacks Sevens went a man down, when Vilimoni Koroi was pinged for a high tackle. His short-handed teammates rallied to keep the South Africans out, but finally conceded a try as Koroi re-entered the fray.
Locked 5-5 at halftime, both teams struggled for continuity through the second half and finally Devald Human scored the winning try in the corner with little more than a minute remaining.
New Zealand had one last chance to snatch victory, but Dylan Collier lost the ball into touch, as he set sail for the corner and South Africa held on.
"We were second best against the USA," said coach Clark Laidlaw. "Then to show the heart that we did against South Africa and have an opportunity to win at the end was something that we can refelct on from this tournament.
"I think, under the circumstances, with injuries and everything that's happened, we're really satisfied with our effort.
"Anyone who has watched the last two weeks will realise how close this competition's going to be and every point is crucial."
The Americans, who lost to New Zealand in the Dubai final, again stumbled at the final hurdle, falling 29-15 to Fiji.
The title was Fiji's first in South African since 2006, but USA's second consecutive final appearance was enough to put them atop the IRB World Series rankings after two tournaments.
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