Rugby: Black Ferns Sevens and All Blacks Sevens claim titles in Sydney

The Black Ferns Sevens perform a haka after winning the Sydney Sevens title. Photo / Photosport

An injury to Michaela Blyde was the only dull spot in an otherwise golden weekend for the New Zealand Sevens teams, with both the men’s and women’s teams winning titles in Sydney.

A week removed from both making the final in Hamilton, the Kiwi teams were firing on all cylinders again to repeat the dose; the men going one better this time around.

Impressively, both teams won their finals by big scores to nil, with the Black Ferns Sevens toppling France 35-0 and the All Blacks Sevens beating South Africa 38-0.

The Black Ferns Sevens had to play the final day of the tournament without strike weapon Blyde, who sustained a hamstring injury in their quarter-final win over Japan on Saturday night.

That was the second of two games the side played against Japan on Saturday, after they beat them 27-12 in their final pool match. As was the case in their second match against Japan, the Black Ferns’ second match against France for the tournament was one-way traffic.

Early tries to Jazmin Felix-Hotham and Tenika Willison broke the match open, before the pair both had two next to their names after eight minutes. As she did so often in the Hamilton tournament last weekend, Portia Woodman-Wickliffe made her mark late to score the final try of the match.

World Series rookie Jorja Miller again showed her star qualities to be named player of the final. At just 18-years-old, the energetic talent from Canterbury has a bright future ahead of her in the game.

The win over France saw the Black Ferns cruise through the knockout stages without conceding a try, winning all three of their post-pool play matches to nil. With Australia and USA both failing to reach the final, the Black Ferns Sevens increased their lead at the top of the overall standings too.

As did the All Blacks Sevens. Like the women’s team, the men went into Sydney atop their leaderboard, and left even further ahead at the front.

The men’s side had six different try scorers in their win over South Africa, setting the platform early before running away with the title in a four-try second half. It was a case of revenge for the All Blacks Sevens, who were beaten by South Africa 17-14 in pool play on Saturday.

After overcoming a stern test from Samoa in their quarter-final on Saturday afternoon, the All Blacks Sevens went into Sunday locked in from the outset as they demolished France 36-5 in their semifinal.

The side now has the best part of a month to get ready for their next event – in Los Angeles at the end of February, before heading to Vancouver in early March. The Vancoucer event will be the next stop for the Black Ferns Sevens.

Ka mau te wehi @nz_sevens 🖤

A display of sheer pride! #Sydney7s | #HSBC7s pic.twitter.com/Q5Oh9PKh0V

— HSBC SVNS (@SVNSSeries) January 29, 2023