The Australian Women's Sevens have claimed their second Cape Town crown, their 26-12 victory over New Zealand putting last week’s loss in Dubai firmly in the rearview mirror.
Thanks to a fast-paced start from Heidi Dennis and the Levi sisters in hot conditions, the women in gold opened up a commanding lead that the Black Ferns 7s couldn’t chase down.
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Coming into the tournament after losing in Dubai, the women delivered commanding wins over France and Japan, and, overcoming a determined Canada, topped Pool B.
A big win over the USA in the semi-final set the standard for a side at their attacking best, and in the final, that only continued.
Delivering strong pressure from the get-go, the Aussies scored inside the first minute through Heidi Dennis, before winning the restart and combining to put Teagan Levi away to score their second try.
New Zealand looked to find momentum when Kelsey Teneti scored after several Aussie mistakes, only for the try to be disallowed due to a forward pass.
The women in gold took advantage of the momentum swing, with Bella Nasser scoring the Aussies’ third try on halftime to open up a 19-0 lead.
Jorja Miller threatened to break out on several occasions in the second half, but after getting isolated, the Aussies struck back through a solid counterattack, with Maddi Levi capping off an impressive tournament with a final try.
With five minutes remaining, the Kiwis finally got on the board through Teneti, with Stacey Waaka scoring in the corner two minutes later to give the defending champions a sniff of a potential comeback.
However, the Aussie defence held out for the final stages of the match on their own line, winning a crucial scrum to secure a famous victory.
The sides will have plenty of food for thought as they head into the break, but the result comes at an ideal time for the women in gold, with the SVNS circuit set to get back underway in Singapore on January 31st.
As for the men, their hopes of replicating their Dubai efforts were not to be, with the outfit finishing bottom of Pool B after losses to Argentina, Spain and France.
Going down in the fifth-placed semi-final to New Zealand, the Aussies would, however, finish a disappointing weekend on a positive note, defeating Spain 24-17 in the seventh-placed play-off.
Hosts South Africa went on to claim the men’s title and go back-to-back at home with a thrilling last-minute try, overcoming 2023 champions Argentina 21-19 in the final match of the day.
