Black Ferns’ dream encounters an obstacle

dubai — The New Zealand women’s rugby sevens team has been living a dream. Unlike other teams, the Black Ferns juggle work and rugby, but that hasn’t stopped them from ruling the women’s game.

The Sevens Sisters clinched their fourth HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series title last year by winning all barring the Sydney leg last season. That saw them become the first women’s side to win the World Rugby Team of the Year in Monaco last week. It was a massive, massive accomplishment considering England and the All Blacks had held sway, winning the award each year, since 2010.

But that dream encountered an obstacle as they were stunned by the USA and went out in the quarterfinals stage of the Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens.

The Black Ferns had aced their head-to-heads with 17 wins from 20 fixtures but there was always a target on their back. And so it proved at The Sevens Stadium on Friday as New Zealand suffered their fourth defeat against the Americans.

They eventually went on to finish fifth. Allan Bunting, who had taken over as coach just before the Dubai leg last season, said a few key moments mattered in the end.

“It was a pretty good weekend but there were a couple of moments in that USA game that changed everything,” said Allan Bunting.

“We love Dubai and we love being out in that atmosphere but if you don’t win you end up being on field two. We recovered from the USA and came back mentally against Spain and backed it up against France. Those games aren’t easy. So, we were consistent except for a couple of moments,” he added.