Joyce hat-trick seals title for GB
GREAT Britain’s women are World Rugby Sevens Series champions after back-to-back final victories in Canada.
South Africa claimed the men’s title with a 24-12 final victory over Great Britain in Edmonton.
For the second weekend in a row, Wales wing Jasmine Joyce scored a hat-trick in a titleclinching win over the USA.
“To play alongside these girls has been fantastic, to come away with back-toback wins is incredible,” said Joyce.
“Credit to all of the girls. We have had so much fun and literally every one of us is living the dream.”
Double Olympian Joyce, 25, scored five tries in Great Britain’s three pool matches and two more in a 50-5 semi-final victory over Mexico.
She then scored three in the opening nine minutes of a 22-5 success against the USA, a repeat of their victory over the the same opponents to win the opening round of the series in Vancouver seven days earlier.
England’s Amy WilsonHardy scored Great Britain’s fourth try of the final.
The 2021 series was shortened to just two events, both in Canada, because of the pandemic and a number of core nations including Fiji, New Zealand and Australia did not take part.
South Africa were winners of every single game across both weekends to be crowned men’s World Series champions.
Having beaten Kenya 38-5 in the Vancouver final the previous weekend, the Blitzboks clinched the title by beating Great Britain.
Scotland’s Robbie Ferguson opened the scoring in the final and England’s Tom Bowen also crossed, but South Africa scored four tries including two for Muller du Plessis to take his Edmonton total to 11.