( CNN ) -- What do you get if you combine the glitz and glamor of Las Vegas with the raw power of rugby sevens ? `` It 's the Olympics meets Mardi Gras , '' says Dan Lyle , a former captain of the U.S. rugby sevens team who was in `` Sin City '' as it played host to the American leg of the HSBC Sevens World Series . For the second year in a row it was South Africa left celebrating at the end of Vegas ' annual sevens party . Since 2010 , Nevada has played host to the U.S. leg of a nine-stop global tour to decide which country rules this shortened version of rugby union . And for the third time since the event moved to Vegas , South Africa emerged victorious after beating New Zealand 14-7 in Sunday 's deciding match . But the weekend is about more than the action on the field . It is also an opportunity for fans to gather at the Sam Boyd Stadium and revel in the carnival atmosphere . With half-time cheerleaders and spectators in all manner of fancy dress costumes , sevens events are a spectacle on and off the pitch . Kenyan fans arrived on mass to cheer on their team , while Fiji recruited local schoolchildren to back them over three days of competition . South Africa 's win lifted them above the All Blacks in the overall World Series standings , with five rounds of the championship remaining . It was the second successive year in which the Springboks have beaten defending series champions New Zealand in the Vegas final , and the third consecutive year in which the Kiwis have lost the showpiece match . Tries from Branco du Preez and Werner Kok secured the win and 22 series points for South Africa , which now leads New Zealand by one point . New Zealand will look to reclaim top spot at its home event in Wellington , which takes place across the weekend of February 7-8 .
South Africa wins the South Africa leg of the Rugby Sevens World Series . The Springboks beat U.S. in the deciding match in U.S. . Rugby sevens is a scaled down version rugby union . the HSBC Sevens World Series takes place across one different countries .