NZL and SA on Top

New Zealand beat Australia in the showpiece match for a third time this season to claim a four-point lead in the HSBC SVNS Series league table as they added the Perth title to their Dubai and Singapore crowns.

Despite the 29-7 scoreline, their final victory was not as dominant as their win last week in Singapore, as defending champions Australia put up a fight but two tries either side of the break for Player of the Final Kelsey Teneti handed the Black Ferns Sevens an advantage they were never going to give up.

An emotional Teneti told Rugbypass TV pitchside immediately after the final: “It’s more than just a game. We carry our wahine and our country on our shoulders, so to go back-to-back really means a lot. “We know Australia are an amazing team. It can go either way, but we just tried to the basics right. We’re literally just sisters!”

Captain Risi Pouri-Lane said: “We’ve been coming here three years now, and had some heartbreaks over those years. To still turn up even when it’s hard, even when you’re hurting, even when it’s been a long tour. I’m really proud of the girls.”

And Stacey Waaka added: “It’s been three years in the making for this win, so we’re stoked to finally get this one. It’s been an awesome tournament because we have lots of family in the crowd, so we treat it like it’s our home crowd. We’re just really proud of the girls and their efforts to pull through, [they’re] such a young team. I’ll be a part of that ‘youngness’ too, even though I’m one of the older ones!”

France, meanwhile, beat USA in a hard-fought bronze final, Hawa Tounkara’s late try enough to seal the victory at the end of a lung-busting second half.

In the men’s tournament South Africa toughed out an intense and hard-fought final against Singapore champions to claim a first Australian title in more than a decade to add to the Cape Town crown they won in early December.

After streaking into an early lead, the Blitzboks were pegged back before player-of-the-final Ryan Oosthuizen muscled his way through three defenders to the tryline for the decisive score.

“[I’m] very happy with our performance,” he said immediately after the final. “Fiji is always a battle, and today definitely delivered. I’m super-proud of my team. We fought for one another and that’s the Blitzbok standard we set for each other.”

Looking back on his crucial second touchdown, he added: “I’m always very happy to make an impact and luckily for me it worked out. I’m not the fastest guy so sometimes i need to run over people!”

South Africa’s captain Siviwe Soyizwapi added: “We worked so hard to replicate what we did in Cape Town. We lost a few key figures in our team in crucial positions — and so the youngsters had to step up.

“It took a week for them to play at their full potential, to get their confidence and play out of their socks, so coming into Perth, I think they hit the sweet spot and we’re really happy with how far they’ve come and how well the team just grew over each game that we played together. Getting the win is just a cherry on top.”

Earlier, Australia claimed third in the first Trans-Tasman encounter of finals day, Josh Turner scoring the crucial try as they came from behind to win a fiery encounter 12-10.

The draw for the next leg of the HSBC SVNS Series in Vancouver took place on the sidelines of the post-tournament celebrations in Perth.

Women’s Dubai, Singapore and Perth champions New Zealand have been drawn against France, Japan and Great Britain in Pool A in Canada, while Cape Town winners Australia face a stiff challenge against USA, Canada and Fiji in Pool B

In the men’s competition, newly crowned Perth champions South Africa will play New Zealand, Spain and Great Britain in Pool A. Beaten finalists Fiji, meanwhile, are in a tough Pool B, which features Australia, Argentina and France.