SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA — New Zealand romped to victory in both the women’s and men’s finals of the HSBC Sydney Sevens to increase their leads at the top of the HSBC World Rugby Seven Series 2023 standings
New Zealand romped to victory in both the women’s and men’s finals of the HSBC Sydney Sevens to increase their leads at the top of the HSBC World Rugby Seven Series 2023 standings.
It is the first time the teams in black have achieved such a tournament double since Hamilton in 2020.
The Black Ferns Sevens beat France 35-0 while the men improved on that slightly with a 38-0 victory against South Africa for their first Cup title of the 2023 Series.
It was the All Black Sevens’ fourth-biggest Cup final win in history and helped to make this year’s tournament the highest try-scoring event in Sydney ever with an incredible 459 tries scored across the weekend.
With three tournaments remaining, the Black Ferns Sevens are 12 points ahead of their nearest rivals Australia, who failed to make the last four on home turf, while New Zealand’s men are now nine points clear of the Blitzboks after five rounds of action.
Despite being well beaten in the showpiece match, France’s women will take plenty of positives from Sydney having reached their first Cup final in almost five years.
Meanwhile, the ultra-consistent USA claimed their third bronze medal of the Series after edging out Ireland 12-5.
Fiji’s men returned to the podium for the first time since they finished runners-up in the opening tournament in Hong Kong after beating France 29-5 in the bronze medal decider.
With unprecedented floods ravaging Auckland, Black Ferns Sevens-winning captain Sarah Hirini used her post-match interview to send her love to those affected back home before thanking the Kiwi fans inside the Allianz Stadium.
“Back-to-backs are pretty hard and to come over here and have the support we’ve had, we love you guys, thank you. We’re glad we could put on a show,” she said.
Player of the Match Jorja Miller added: “We’ve been working really hard, this group, since the girls came back from 15s and I am really proud of how we grew together and progressed through the games.”
After silver medal finishes in Cape Town and Hamilton, All Blacks Sevens captain Sam Dickson was delighted that his side finally got over the line.
“I’m so proud of the boys, we’ve been trying a while now, making a few finals but just missing out,” he said.
“It was an unreal tournament for us, it’s about time we had a polished performance like that.
“Our main goal is to qualify for the Olympics and to win the World Series. This is an absolute bonus.”
Player of the Final Joe Webber added: “To hold South Africa to nil is pretty impressive. The boys have been working really hard over the last couple of months and we really deserved that one.”
Media Release: World Rugby
Photo credit: World Rugby
