Australia Women's Sevens team showed what it meant after rebounding from a disappointing Dubai defeat to take the Cape Town crown.
Tim Walsh's side were near-flawless in the 26-12 victory, blowing away New Zealand in the Final with a ruthless first-half display.
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They put on 26 unanswered points as they turned the tide from last week, with players embracing each other as the siren sounded following a late Kiwi comeback.
Co-captain Bella Nasser led from the front in the bruising display to complete the undefeated tournament.
Nasser set the tempo in defence and caught the Kiwis napping, crossing for a 19-0 half-time lead, reflecting on what the win meant to the group.
“It feels really good. We were hurting last week after losing to the Kiwis who showed up, but we put it all out there today, and I’m so proud of the girls…it was a big squad effort,” co-captain Nasser said.
Fellow co-captain Madison Ashby couldn't hide the emotion and excitement as it poured out during the trophy-lifting ceremony.
"Cape Town is one of the best tournaments out there. We spoke about winning the 50-50 moments and we did that," she said post-match.
The title sets up an entertaining 2026 season, with four more regular season rounds before the three-legged Grand Final, starting in Hong Kong in April.
As for the Men, they find themselves still in the hunt despite a seven-place finish.
They sit six points behind a three-way tie for the lead, which includes New Zealand, Fiji and Cape Town champions South Africa, delighting the home crowd with a thrilling victory.
"We were really disappointed with day one after coming off an impressive week one in Dubai, but we're talking about growth and building depth as a team for the first six tournaments," Australian captain Henry Hutchison said.
"I'm really impressed with how a lot of the new boys fired back today and put it to them, showed a lot of character and what they're made of. "They've slotted in nicely and now it's about a bit of blooding, put them out in the arena and hope they swim."
The SVNS World Series resumes in Singapore at the end of January, followed by the Perth leg from February 7-8
