Black Ferns run away with LA sevens crown
The Black Ferns Sevens didn't allow the sight of Jorja Miller writhing on the turf in pain to distract them as they rolled Australia 29-14 in the final of the Los Angeles Sevens yesterday.
Miller was injured in the opening seconds, forcing the game to be delayed while she was loaded onto a motorised buggy.
Her team-mates would have been relieved to see her sitting up as the cart departed the field – she also appeared in good spirits on the sideline a few minutes later – and they quickly got to work as the destructive Michaela Blyde led the charge by scoring three tries.
Blyde opened New Zealand's account with a couple of tries in the first spell, while the sinbinning of Maddison Levi, for head-on-head contact with Shiray Kaka, was a significant blow for Australia shortly before halftime.
The Black Ferns, ahead 12-7 at the break, quickly set about heaping more misery on their opponents with Risi Pouri-Lane and Portia Woodman-Wickliffe adding tries early after the restart.
Levi, having returned to action, embarked on a long-range run to score her side's second try but it was too little, too late.
The victory for the New Zealanders meant they had back-to-back titles after beating France in the final in Vancouver early last week.
Earlier, Woodman-Wickliffe grabbed two tries for the Kiwis as they overpowered Canada 31-12 in their semifinal.
It was the Black Ferns’ second win in a final in this series and they remain second behind Australia on the overall standings.
Meanwhile, the All Blacks Sevens completed a disappointing tournament with a 12-5 loss to Samoa in the playoff for ninth .
Amanaki Nicole gave New Zealand the perfect start with a try in the first minute, but Samoa controlled most of the game and scored twice through Elisapeta Alofipo.
The All Blacks Sevens are currently fourth in the standings in the world series.