Black Ferns conquer, All Blacks 7s conquered
Despite making a fast start in Vancouver, the All Blacks Sevens were unable to join the Black Ferns Sevens team in winning a World Series title yesterday.
While the men were unable to shrug off their underdog status when they stumbled to a 36-12 defeat to Argentina in their final, the women unleashed a clinical performance to beat France 35-19.
Up against an Argentinian team that has now won 15 games in a row, and collected three consecutive tournament titles, the All Blacks Sevens struggled for parity in the physical confrontations and their inability to fire any shots after halftime proved costly.
Three tries by Argentina's Matias Osadczuk shattered the New Zealanders' hopes of building on an early lead after tries to Joe Webber and Brady Rush, and forced them to once again reflect on how to stop the juggernaut from South America.
The five-pointers from Webber and Rush were impressive, too, and gave their supporters hope they could cause an upset.
But, no, Argentina hoisted themselves off the canvas, and having dusted themselves off after seeing they were down 12-0, returned fire in impressive fashion.
The unusual sight of New Zealand tacklers being ruthlessly brushed aside set the tone, and emphasised why Argentina's long-term plan to create the best sevens team in the world is to be respected.
Meanwhile, the form of the red-hot Black Ferns Sevens and their evergreen speed machine Portia Woodman-Wickliffe, who scored a hat-trick of tries, was in stark contrast to the frigid weather as they defended their crown against the French in their final.
Trading the New Zealand summer for the icy temperatures in Canada proved no distraction for the Black Ferns after they shot out to a 28-7 lead at halftime, with Woodman scoring two tries in the first spell and adding a third in the second.
Woodman-Wickliffe and Michaela Blyde rattled on five-pointers following scything runs from the deep in the final, the latter emphasising her speed when able to get on the outside shoulder of a defender. The third try to Jorja Miller was more subtle; she used fast footwork to bamboozle her French marker in the first half.
Then came the dagger, applied by Woodman-Wickliffe. She snared her second try in extra-time in the first half, as the demoralised French retreated to the sideline at the break to try and determine how they could rally from a 21-point deficit at the break.
As the French attempted a comeback, scoring quickly after the re-start, the New Zealanders heaved the cold air into their lungs and got the ball into the hands of the try-hungry Woodman-Wickliffe.
She didn't disappoint, as she galloped in for the hat-trick with four minutes left on the clock. It was a demoralising outcome for the French, who simply didn't have enough time or the ability to crack the scrambling defence to close the gap on the scoreboard.