The Black Ferns Sevens have done it.
They have finished their World Series season in style in Clermont, clinching their fifth tournament out of six in 2016-17 and showing they are the undisputed queens of sevens since the Rio Olympics.
They needed to defeat Fiji in the Cup quarter-final late last night to seal the championship and duly did so, beating the side that rose to fourth on the final standings 31-7. Teenager Alena Saili, who showed her worth on day two, scored a brace, one of them coming from a superb offload by her skipper Tyla Nathan-Wong, who was later adjudged player of the final.
Hosts France were repelled 21-7, the highlight being a Ruby Tui kick-pass to set up Michaela Blyde. That set up a trans-Tasman showdown in the Cup final.
New Zealand seized the initiative from the kickoff when Saili made a long break off the two-handed take. Less than a minute later Tui was darting in the corner on the blindside.
