Ivan van Zyl dotted down as Saracens scored two tries inside the final quarter to beat the Sale Sharks in the English Premiership final in London on Saturday.
The six-Test-cap Springbok dotted down in the 72nd minute and the TMO intervened to award the score in a 35-25 victory for Sarries at Twickenham.
Fellow Bok Akker van der Merwe barged over in the first half for a Sale outfit that boasted six South Africans in the match-day 23, including skipper Jono Ross.
? @Saracens are one step closer to triumph in the #GallagherPremFinal with another try ?
The stage is set for a huge finale ⏲️#GallagherPrem | #SARvSAL pic.twitter.com/2OzfsybvNr
— Premiership Rugby (@premrugby) May 27, 2023
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Right back in it ?
Akker van der Merwe uses his power to muscle over the line and draw @SaleSharksRugby level ?
Watch the #GallagherPremFinal live on @btsportrugby and @ITVRugby ?#GallagherPrem | #SARvSAL pic.twitter.com/mWwLdtfmx2
— Premiership Rugby (@premrugby) May 27, 2023
In a match briefly interrupted by Just Stop Oil protesters, victory gave table-toppers Saracens, beaten by the Leicester Tigers in the 2022 final, a sixth Premiership title and a first since they returned to the top flight last season.
A thrilling match was in the balance until Elliot Daly and Van Zyl went over late on, and Mark McCall’s charges then survived playing the last six minutes a man down.
© Agence France-Presse
Photo: Clive Rose/Getty Images