New Zealand’s Black Ferns have been in charge of the Women’s Sevens Series from the start, winning the first three series and now taking their fourth title of the season in Langford (CAN) by defeating Australia, 21-17, in the final.
With just one leg to go, the Black Ferns have 92 points to 80 for the United States, 78 for Canada and 74 for Australia. The top four finishers in the seasonal standings will be qualified for the Tokyo 2020 tournament; with France fifth with 60 and one more tournament to go, New Zealand and the U.S. are in and Canada and Australia are almost in.
It’s a considerable achievement for the U.S., which has never finished higher than fourth in the seasonal standings!
Australia, New Zealand and the U.S. all had perfect, 3-0 records in pool play. The U.S. edged Canada, 12-7, in the quarterfinals and met New Zealand in the semis, losing 26-12. The Black Ferns moved on to the final and had a tough time with Sevens Series defending champion Australia, finally winning, 21-17.
The U.S. met France in the third-place match and won easily, 26-5. It was the fourth medal of the season and the American women have finished 2-4-3-3-3 in the five legs this season.
Canada’s superstar Ghislaine Landry led the scoring in this round with 42 points, just ahead of Ireland’s Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe, Ellia Green (AUS) and Tyla Nathan-Wong (NZL), all with 40. The top U.S. scorer was Alev Kelter with 30. Summaries:
World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series
Langford (CAN) ~ 11-12 May 2019
(Full results here)
Final Standings: 1. New Zealand; 2. Australia; 3. United States; 4. France; 5. Canada; 6. England; 7. Russia; 8. Spain. Semis: New Zealand d. U.S., 26-12; Australia d. France, 26-19. Third: U.S. d. France, 26-5. Final: New Zealand d. Australia, 21-17.
