Black Out at the HSBC Sydney Sevens
allblacks.com 04 Feb 2019
It is the second time this season the teams have joined in celebration, both claiming Dubai Sevens crowns in December.
The Black Ferns Sevens and All Blacks Sevens opened the day with dominant performances, 29-5 and 28-5 wins respectively.
The Black Ferns Sevens, without injured vice-captain Tyla Nathan-Wong, were composed in their semi final performance against USA, crossing for three tries either side of half time.
The win set up a repeat Final showdown against Australia, the teams meeting in the Sydney Sevens decider last year which is the last time that the Black Ferns Sevens tasted defeat.
It was five all after early exchanges before the Black Ferns Sevens launched, Michaela Blyde running in three tries and Stacey Waaka nabbing a brace on the way to a 34-10 victory.
Waaka was named Player of the Final, while Blyde received the UL Mark of Excellence for her Finals hattrick.
Coach Allan Bunting said the maiden World Series title on Australian soil was sweet.
It doesn't get much harder than beating Australia in Australia, and we hadn’t won the Sydney event before so it's a great moment.
The Black Ferns Sevens and All Blacks Sevens opened the day with dominant performances, 29-5 and 28-5 wins respectively.
The Black Ferns Sevens, without injured vice-captain Tyla Nathan-Wong, were composed in their semi final performance against USA, crossing for three tries either side of half time.
The win set up a repeat Final showdown against Australia, the teams meeting in the Sydney Sevens decider last year which is the last time that the Black Ferns Sevens tasted defeat.
It was five all after early exchanges before the Black Ferns Sevens launched, Michaela Blyde running in three tries and Stacey Waaka nabbing a brace on the way to a 34-10 victory.
Waaka was named Player of the Final, while Blyde received the UL Mark of Excellence for her Finals hattrick.
Coach Allan Bunting said the maiden World Series title on Australian soil was sweet.
It doesn't get much harder than beating Australia in Australia, and we hadn’t won the Sydney event before so it's a great moment.
REACTION ?? "These are the moments you treasure" - @nizzlewilliams after the #BlackFerns7s took out the Sydney title for the first time ever.#Sydney7s pic.twitter.com/nEDJkGvRo8— Black Ferns (@BlackFerns) February 3, 2019
“This weekend has definitely tested our depth and it has been really pleasing to see everyone step up and put in performances they can be proud of,” said Bunting.
After a quarter final victory over France the All Blacks Sevens set up a thrilling semi final encounter against series-leaders Fiji, and had to do so without the services of co-captain Tim Mikkelson who was ruled out after failing a concussion test.
The All Blacks Sevens built a performance from a composed defensive effort and managed to silence a Fijian team who had looked unstoppable over the past two weeks.
Capitalising on a Fijian red card, the All Blacks Sevens ran in six tries, Vilimoni Koroi and Kurt Baker both crossing twice on the way to the 36-14 victory.
In the Cup Final, the All Blacks Sevens faced USA, who had bundled them out of the Hamilton tournament just a week prior.
Down to just 10 players, the All Blacks Sevens produced another determined defensive effort that laid the platform for the 21-5 victory. Sam Dickson was named Player of the Final.
Coach Clark Laidlaw said the team showed composure and resilience to get the job done.
"I thought we played extremely well over the past two days apart from a slow start yesterday morning. To execute as well as we did in those last two games is really pleasing and shows the huge amount of belief this team has," said Laidlaw.
Sarah Hirini, Gayle Broughton, Kurt Baker and Sam Dickson were named in the respective Tournament Dream Teams.
REACTION ??The #AllBlacks7s now sit first-equal with USA on the @WorldRugby7s points table after taking out the 2019 #Sydney7s title pic.twitter.com/RINvT6BLBo— All Blacks Sevens (@AllBlacks7s) February 3, 2019
The golden effort sees both teams claim full points for the overall series standings, the Black Ferns Sevens leading the Women’s Series and the All Blacks Sevens sit in equal first position with USA.
Day Three Results
Quarter Final
All Blacks Sevens 28 (Jona Nareki, Regan Ware, Sam Dickson, Tone Ng Shiu tries, Andrew Knewstubb 2, Vilimoni Koroi 2 conversions)
France 5
Semi Final
Black Ferns Sevens 29 (Michaela Blyde, Ruby Tui, Gayle Broughton, Shakira Baker, Kat Whata-Simpkins tries, Kat Whata Simpkins 2 conversions)
USA 5
All Blacks Sevens 36 (Kurt Baker 2, Vilimoni Koroi 2, Tone Ng Shui, Scott Gregory tries, Vilimoni Koroi 2, Kurt Baker conversions)
Fiji 14
Final
Black Ferns Sevens 34 (Michaela Blyde 3, Stacey Waaka 2, Shakira Baker tries, Kat Whata-Simpkins 2 conversions)
Australia 10
All Blacks Sevens 21 (Regan Ware, Sam Dickson, Tone Ng Shiu tries, Vilimoni Koroi 3 conversions)
USA 5
FT | It's a double for New Zealand in Sydney as the #AllBlacks7s take out the 2019 #Sydney7s Cup Final! pic.twitter.com/8SfKjbaNFs— All Blacks Sevens (@AllBlacks7s) February 3, 2019
