Returning Ferns denied title by late try
The Black Ferns Sevens almost made the perfect return to the World Series, only to be denied after the hooter by rivals Australia in the Langford Sevens final yesterday.
Australian substitute Lily Dick scored 1m 44s after the fulltime siren to pinch a 21-17 victory for the World Series champions over the Olympic champions.
New Zealand were playing their first tournament since 2020 after missing the majority of the World Series due to Covid restrictions.
While the Black Ferns Sevens were stuck in New Zealand, Australia won four straight tournaments and secured the World Series crown in
Langford by making the final.
In the 17th final meeting between the two nations, New Zealand held a 10-7 lead at halftime courtesy of tries to Alena Saili and Sarah Hirini.
Australia hit back to take the lead in the ninth minute before Michaela Blyde looked to secure another final victory for New Zealand with two minutes remaining.
New Zealand were in a strong position to close it out, holding possession deep in Australian territory before losing skipper Hirini to a bloody nose.
Australia then earned a penalty with time up and 90m away from the tryline but worked their way up the field to set up the match-winner for Dick.
It was an especially meaningful result for Australia after they were knocked out of the Olympics at the quarter-final stage by Fiji, missing out on defending their title in what would have been a semifinal clash against New Zealand.
“It’s awesome to have New Zealand back in the series. We’ve been looking forward to playing them for such a long time, after obviously not matching up in Tokyo,” Australian skipper Charlotte Caslick said.
“That was an awesome effort by the girls. We started well and obviously finished really well.”
New Zealand will have their chance for revenge with the World Series concluding in Toulouse later this month and again at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in JulyAugust.
Earlier in the day, Portia Woodman scored her 200th World Series try for New Zealand as the Ferns coasted into the semifinals with a 38-0 win over Canada.
They were then tested by France in a rematch of the Tokyo Olympics gold medal match, coming back from 14-7 down at halftime to book an appearance in another final after second half tries to Blyde and Risi Pouri-Lane.