Hong Kong Sevens: New Zealand women complete ‘three-peat’ with win over Australia in final
The Olympic champions’ first two victories were at Hong Kong Stadium and they follow that up with the first title at Kai Tak
New Zealand’s women were crowned champions of the Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens for a third year in a row on Sunday after beating arch-rivals Australia 26-19 in the final.
The Olympic champions’ first two victories were at the Hong Kong Stadium and they followed that up with the first title at the city’s new Kai Tak Stadium.
But New Zealand were made to work for their “three-peat”, as they went behind for the first time all weekend and played the final two minutes of the first half a player down.
“We talk about heart a lot in our group, and the Aussies are the biggest rival for us, so we knew we had to show some heart and really grind deep,” said Jorja Miller, who scored two tries and was shown a yellow card in the game.
“We knew it wasn’t going to be an easy one, and we went out there and got the job done.”
The game got off to a fast and physical start before Australia’s talisman, Maddison Levi, powered through to score the game’s first try. But that lead was short-lived, as New Zealand captain Sarah Hirini passed through the posts and saw her try converted to establish a 7-5 lead.