The All Blacks Sevens won more matches in the tournament than eventual finalists France, but were left to rue a narrow defeat to the Olympic champions.
At the new, sold-out Kai Tak Sports Park, the Black Ferns Sevens belligerence at the breakdown settled a typically tight and sometimes breathless Trans-Tasman tussle.
Australia struck after two minutes. A fantastic pass that traversed half the pitch found an unmarked Maddison Levi at halfway, and it was Goodnight, Irene.
Sarah Hirini responded for the Black Ferns. A disdainful fend by the skipper created a three-on-one overlap. Risi Pouri-Lane galloped ahead and fired the ball back inside to Hirini.
Jorja Miller's tip tackle on Faith Nathan saw the Kel Tremain Memorial Trophy winner depart to the sinbin for two minutes.
Australia fumbled at halfway and from a scrum, Stacey Waaka lured two defenders into contact and flipped an offload to Michaela Brake, who slammed her foot on the accelerator, a 40-metre finish with her first touch of the ball.
Australia squared the ledger before halftime with Levi unstoppable. The scorer of a dozen tries this weekend hurdled three Black Ferns like Olympic champion Sally Pearson and dashed another 50 metres.
At the beginning of the second half, the collisions were brutal, and space was at a premium. Miller would atone for her first-half indiscretion with a breakdown steal and then a dummy quicker than a Clint Eastwood draw to push the Black Ferns ahead again.
New Zealand pilfered the restart. Little headway was being made until Miller swerved and sailed clear. The highland dancer would put the Smurfs, cheerleaders, action heroes, and rock stars to shame in the rambunctious South Stand.
Levi remained potent, and an 80-metre kick and chase forced a retreating Brake to hack the ball over the sideline. Australia had the last say after the siren.
The Black Ferns Sevens weren’t seriously stretched in their journey to the final, improving their SVNS records against China to 13-0, Brazil 21-0, USA 38-7, and Canada 38-2 with a draw.
Remarkably, their 41-0 demolition of Canada in the semi-final wasn’t their biggest victory against the Olympic silver-medalists. In 2023, the Black Ferns Sevens thrashed Canada 46-0, while their largest score against Canada was 50 in Cape Town in 2023.
The Black Ferns Sevens have won 18 matches in a row in Hong Kong and improved their record in the 2024-25 season to 26-2. The Black Ferns Sevens have won 40 of the 51 SVNS Cup finals they have contested and 340 of 378 games.
Jazmin Felix-Hotham and Pouri-Lane were exceptional throughout. Kelsey Teneti added punch from the bench. With a black and blue bump in her right eye, Theresa Setefano looked like she’d gone rounds with Katie Taylor. Miller emptied all the barrels when it counted, and there was yet another special milestone for Hirini.
Hirini Hundred
When Sarah Hirini scored a try in the Black Ferns' 29-7 group victory over Brazil, she became the 20th woman in SVNS history to score 100 tries for her country. In the 10th minute, Hirini ran a cut off a Theresa Setefano pass and exploded into a hole, embarking on a lung-busting 65-metre gallop to the line. The double Olympic champion was typically modest about her latest milestone.
“Pretty happy to be honest. Obviously, getting the 99 last night, I just wanted to try and get that 100 mark,” Hirini said on RugbyPass TV.
“It’s taken me a little while, but I’m pretty stoked by that.”…Just being here in Hong Kong at the new stadium, any rugby’s good rugby.”
Most SVNS Tries for Black Ferns Sevens
Michaela Brake - 273
Portia Woodman-Wickliffe - 256
Stacey Waaka - 110
Kelly Brazier - 101
Sarah Hirini - 101
Kayla McAlister - 85
Jorja Miller - 69
Black Ferns Sevens Scoring
Black Ferns Sevens: 45 (Brake, Pouri-Lane 2, Paul 2, Setefano, Teneti, tries: Pouri-Lane 3 cons, Davis 2 cons) China: 0
Black Ferns Sevens: 33 (Brake 2, Hirini 2, Feilx-Hotham tries; Pouri-Lane 2 cons, Nuku 2 cons) USA: 21 (Ariana Ramsey, Nia Toliver, Kristi Kirshe tries; Kayla Canett 2 cons, Sariah Ibarra con)
Black Ferns Sevens: 29 (Brake 2, Teneti, Pouri-Lane, Hirini tries; Pouri-Lane 2 cons) Brazil: 5 (Thalita Da Silva Costa try)
Black Ferns Sevens: 31 (Pouri-Lane, Brake 2, Feilx-Hotham, Paul tries; Pouri-Lane 2 con, Nuku con) Brazil: 7 (Thalita Da Silva Costa try, Raquel Kochhann con)
Black Ferns Sevens: 41 (Paul, Felix-Hotham 2, Pouri-Lane, Miller, Teneti, Brake tries; Pouri-Lane 3 cons) Canada: 0
Black Ferns Sevens: 26 (Pouri-Lane, Brake, Miller 2 tries; Pouri-Lane 3 con) Australia: 19 (Maddison Levi 2, Mackenzie Davis tries; Tia Hinds 2 con)
All Blacks Sevens
The All Blacks Sevens' reign as Hong Kong champions is over after suffering their first tournament loss in 15 matches to France 21-14 in the Cup quarter finals.
New Zealand foiled France 10-7 in the 2024 decider to successfully defend the crown claimed in 2023.
Unfortunately, the 2025 team could not emulate the 1996 class in achieving a three-peat at Hong Kong, eliminated by the Olympic champions who squeaked into the last eight after a narrow 14-7 victory over Kenya in their last pool game. A last play try to Mateo Garcia offset earlier defeats to Great Britain (12-7) and Spain (19-12).
It all started so promisingly with a solo try from past halfway for the fleet-footed and classy Ngarohi McGarvey-Black, who could have had a double moments later but unselfishly offloaded in the goal area to Dylan Collier to ensure his conversion was closer to the posts.
Earlier, a break by Cody Vai, regaining confidence after a serious injury, had given the All Blacks Sevens momentum.
Critically, France struck just before the interval when the ball bobbled around a ruck and spat out on the French side. Baby-faced Grégoire Arfeuil defied his boyish looks, steamrolling over for a try in the corner. A sideline conversion by Enahemo Artau cut the deficit in half.
The All Blacks Sevens fumbled the second-half kickoff. France didn’t always go forward from the following scrum but showed enough patience, strength, and speed to create a second try for Arfeuil. Again, Artau was on target from the sideline.
The All Blacks Sevens became flustered, France urgent and sprightly. The winning try was scored by Joé Quere Karaba in only his fourth SVNS event.
On Sunday, the All Blacks Sevens won the Plate, defeating Spain 24-5. Spain had been eliminated in the quarters by Fiji. Down 28-7, Spain scored three tries in two minutes with Francisco Cosculluela nailing three improbable sideline conversions to send the game into extra time. In the golden point period, Spain infringed at the kickoff and Iowane Teba drop kicked a 35 metre penalty goal to secure a Fiji win.
Cosculluela threatened to hurt New Zealand, responding to a Cody Vai try. However, the All Blacks Sevens regrouped at halftime and whitewashed the Spanish in the second stanza. Dylan Collier collected a knock-on to stroll over for his 81st SVNS try.
At the opposite end of the age spectrum, rookie Sofai Maka showed a clean pair of heels before Regan Ware showed he still has enough gas in the tank to be effective. His 45-metre gallop was his 130th SVNS try.
In pool play, New Zealand performed with greater cohesion and physicality than they have all season. An 81st victory in 102 SVNS outings against Australia was highlighted by two tries to Amanaki Nicole. Nicole. who hadn't played since the Los Angeles Sevens in May, debuted for the All Blacks Sevens in 2018 and has amassed 23 SVNS events.
Regular contenders South Africa finished ninth, while New Zealand were untroubled against Uruguay, who were 11th.
Argentina won the title for the first time with a tense 12-7 victory over France in the final. It was 0-0 at halftime, and it took ten minutes for the first try to be scored in a pile-up by Santiago Alvarez in his 68th SVNS tournament. Fittingly, talisman Marcos Moneta scored the clincher; France touching down after the siren.
The only previous occasion Argentina had been in the Hong Kong final was in 2004 when they lost to England. However, with three consecutive Cup victories in 2024/25, Argentina are very much the men’s pacesetters.
Meanwhile, the All Blacks Sevens have won 985 of their 1,216 SVNS games. Fiji is next for most SVNS wins with 926 in 1,216 games. Fiji (19-time Hong Kong winners) were fourth, losing the third-place playoff 22-21 to Australia.
The All Blacks Sevens Scoring
All Blacks Sevens: 21 (Nicole 2, Maka tries; McGarvey-Black 3 cons) Australia: 12 (Aden Ekanayake, Jayden Blake tries; Hayden Sargeant con)
All Blacks Sevens: 29 (Ware, Nicole, Collier, Vai, Rush tries; McGarvey-Black con, Knewstubb con) Uruguay: 0
All Blacks Sevens: 17 (Vai, Collier, Nicole tries; McGarvey-Black con) South Africa: 7 (Donovan Don try, con)
All Blacks Sevens: 14 (McGarvey-Black, Collier tries, McGarvey-Black 2 cons) France: 21 (Grégoire Arfeuil 2, Joé Quere Karaba tries; Enahemo Artaud 3 cons)
All Blacks Sevens: 24 (Vai, Collier, Maka, Ware tries; McGarvey-Black 2 con) Spain: 5 (Francisco Cosculluela try)