In the cut-throat format, which didn't feature cup quarter finals, the Black Ferns Sevens proved the most ruthless, outscoring opponents 147-21 in four matches.
In their 28th Cup final against Australia, Michaela Brake opened the scoring with a trademark left-foot side-step and 60 metre dash.
New Zealand’s next try was somewhat fortunate. A Mahina Paul pass was knocked down by Australia and gathered by Player of the Final, Risi Pouri-Lane, who scored her 24th try of the season under the sticks.
Pouri-Lane, Sarah Hirini, and Jorja Miller were relentless on defence until the last play of the first half when Maddison Levi punished a rare mistake by New Zealand in their own 22.
Faith Nathan struggled to assert her usual impact and when she fumbled, Jazmin Felix-Hotham kicked it ahead and received the perfect bounce.
Felix-Hotham was imperious on the edge and an offload in the grasp of two defenders set up Kelsey Teneti.
Fittingly Brake had the last say when some bone rattling tackling saw her snaffle the ball with typical urgency. Brake has scored 282 SVNS tries, the most of any female player.
The Black Ferns Sevens have won ten matches in a row in Singapore and improved their record in the 2024-25 season to 30-2. The Black Ferns Sevens have won 41 of the 52 SVNS finals contested and 344 of 382 games. They are 19-9 in finals against Australia.
The semi-final against France was tougher than the 40-14 scoreline suggested. Initially, New Zealand made things look easy, surging to a 19-0 lead but France responded with two quick tries to make it 19-14.
Mahina Paul eased some anxiety with an angled run that attracted three defenders and set Brake free, but when Brake was yellow carded, France pressed hard until a knock-on was punished by Teneti. Miller smelled blood and busted from halfway.
League Title Secured
When the Black Ferns Sevens whitewashed Brazil 48-0 in pool play, their largest victory against Brazil since a 51-0 thumping in Langford in 2018, a ninth SVNS league title was secured.
The Black Ferns were firing on all cylinders, with Brazil only reaching halfway for the restarts in the first spell.
Miller helped create the first three tries. A pivot to the outside created space to put Michella Brake clear with a simple pass.
With Brazil rushing forward to limit Miller's space, Jorja put the ball to boot, and the Black Ferns Sevens scored again through Pouri-Lane.
Brazil salvaged some rare possession but when Miller ripped it from the South Americans' grasp, Hirini was celebrating a try soon after.
Pouri-Lane showed her boot could be as precise as Miller’s, and Brake had a second try before halftime.
Unusually, Stacey Waaka didn't score a try in Hong Kong last weeked, having topped the charts in 2023. She continued the coronation with a 60-metre solo stride.
The bench was emptied but there was no respite for Brazil. Dhys Faleafaga was a hive of activity, soaring at kickoffs and scoring the last try with a brutish charge.
New Zealand vice-captain Pouri-Lane told World Rugby: “There’s definitely an element of relief, but in a way that we’re so hard on ourselves to perform and to come out here in every tournament and put on a show for everybody and ourselves.
“Everyone here, we work hard to be in those kind of moments, so it is relief but also just an overwhelming sense of joy knowing that the whole squad that’s behind us that put us in a position to be here in those moments.
“We’re our harshest critics. We always strive for more, we always want more, and we always think that we haven’t actually reached our potential. There’s pros and cons to that because we’re so hard on ourselves, but the pros to that is we’re always striving for greatness.”
Black Ferns Sevens Scoring
Black Ferns Sevens: 38 (Waaka 3, Brake, Saili, Miller, Pouri-Lane 4 cons) China: 0
Black Ferns Sevens: 48 (Brake 3, Pouri-Lane 2, Hirini, Waaka, Faleafaga tries; Pouri-Lane 4 cons) Brazil: 0
Black Ferns Sevens: 40 (Felix-Hotham, Brake 2, Waaka, Teneti, Miller tries; Pouri-Lane 4 cons, Brake con) France: 14 (Lea Dezou, Carla Neisen tries; Alycia Christiaens 2 cons)
Black Ferns Sevens: 31 (Brake 2, Pouri-Lane, Felix-Hotham tries; Pouri-Lane 2 cons, Brake con) Australia: (Maddison Levi try; Tia Hinds con)
All Blacks Sevens Eighth
It was a tough weekend for the All Blacks Sevens, eliminated from contention by eventual Cup winners Fiji in Pool D and narrowly dropping two matches on Sunday to finish eighth.
Fiji were simply the better side in a 36-5 triumph where they showcased the athleticism, vision, and skill acclaimed as ‘Fijian flair.’
Sevuloni Mocenacagi set the tone with a length-of-the-field breakout, only for Cody Vai to respond from the kickoff with a spectacular leap, catch, and run away.
That’s as good as it gets for New Zealand. Joseva Talacolo kicked ahead for Tira Wilagi Patterson to gather. Despite a brave tussle from Vai, he couldn’t prevent the offload back to Talacolo.
Joji Nasova is the leading try scorer in the 2024/25 SVNS, and when he dotted either side of halftime, the array of Fijian threats became too much to handle, with another two tries conceded. Fiji has won five in a row against New Zealand and 64 of 123 SVNS matches.
The All Blacks Sevens were left to rue a slow start against Great Britain who won four of their five matches in Singapore and pushed Argentina to the limits in the Pumas league securing 19-12 victory.
New Zealand was down 24-10 before a brave two late tries to promising rookie Frank Vaenuku and Tone Ng Shiu reduced the deficit.
The All Blacks Sevens set the pace against Ireland, jumping out to a 19-7 lead courtesy of two well-taken tries by veteran Sione Molia. Molia has scored 85 SVNS tries for New Zealand.
Ireland refused to yield and dynamic youngster Dylan O’Grady scored twice to achieve an unlikely comeback. O’Grady's first try was a 40 metre solo bust and then he ran a sharp cut that left the defence stranded.
Fiji beat Kenya 21-12 in the final. Fiji was second behind Argentina in the League standings. Fiji has won 46 of the 86 Cup finals they have contested, including four in Singapore. Keyna won their only previous SVNS tournament in Singapore in 2016.
The SVNS grand final featuring the top eight men's and women's teams is in Los Angeles on May 3 and 4. Australia (women) and France (men) are the defending champions.
All Blacks Sevens Scoring
All Blacks Sevens: 29 (Webber, Maka, Vai 2, Nicole tries; McGarvey-Black 2 cons) USA: 14 (Marcus Tupuola, Ulu Niutupuivaha tries; Lucas Lacamp con, Porter Goodrum con)
All Blacks Sevens: 5 (Vai try) Fiji: 36 Sevuloni Mocenacagi, Joseva Talacolo, Joji Nasova 2, Filipe Sauturaga, Alusio Vakadranu; Sauturaga con, Ratu Manueli Maisamoa con, Sakiusa Siqila con)
All Blacks Sevens: 22 (Rush, Knewstubb, Vaenuku, Ng Shiu tries; Knewstubb con) Great Britain: 24 (Luke Mehson, Morgan Williams, Harry Glover, Marcus Kershaw tries; Will Homer 2 con)
All Blacks Sevens: 19 (Molia 2, Vaenuku tries; Knewstubb 2 cons) Ireland: 21 (Zac McConnell, Dylan O’Grady 2 tries; Ed Kelly 3 cons)