All Blacks and Black Ferns Sevens side celebrate in Hong Kong. photo/NZ Sevens Twitter
The All Blacks and Black Ferns Sevens sides have once again enjoyed double success with both teams taking out the prestigious Hong Kong Sevens tournament overnight.
Appearing at the Hong Kong tournament for the first time since 2001, the women's side kept their unbeaten record intact on their way to a 26-17 victory over nearest rivals, Australia in the final.
Stacey Waaka (Ngāi Tūhoe, Te Arawa) scored a double, the second of which sealed the victory in what was a tight tussle all the way through. The "smiling assassin" was subsequently named player of the final.
"Obviously it was a team effort. Aussie are a good outfit and we know it's a rivalry with them and we love it. We love battling against them, it's always tough, always down to the wire," Waaka said after the game.
Bienne Terita (Ngāi Tūhoe) opened the scoring for Australia with a long-range try from deep within her own half, before finding herself in the sin-bin shortly after for an off-the-ball tackle on Kelly Brazier.
New Zealand took advantage of the overlap, with Tyla Nathan-Wong (Ngāpuhi) executing an accurate crosskick for Waaka to score her first try.
The biggest gap on the scoreboard was just nine points shortly after halftime when Michaela Blyde scored for the Black Ferns to make the score 21-12. Sariah Paki (Waikato) hit back immediately for Australia before Waaka sealed the win with just seconds on the clock.
The All Blacks side won their 12th Hong Kong title against traditional rivals Fiji with a 24-17 win in the final after scoring the first three tries on their way to a 24-7 lead at halftime.
Fiji, which holds a record 19 Hong Kong titles, had won 40 of their previous 41 games at the famous tournament before the final but their fate was as good as sealed early with New Zealand rookie Cody Vai scoring after just 25 seconds, capitalising on a Fiji mistake on their own try line.
That was the beginning of the All Blacks Sevens onslaught as they scored twice more before Fiji finally registered on the scoreboard. Ngārohi McGarvey-Black scored right on halftime, eventually the last points the New Zealanders needed. Clark Laidlaw's men put on a defence masterclass in the second half, allowing just two tries to be scored, neither of which occurred when Amanaki Nicole was sin-binned for two minutes. The title was New Zealand's first in Hong Kong since 2014 and increased their lead on the World Sevens Series table with just three rounds remaining.
The men's series moves to Singapore this weekend, while the women have a short break before both teams head to Toulouse in May.
