The Black Ferns Sevens celebrated Jorja Miller’s 22nd birthday by winning the Australian Sevens for the fourth time, and for the first time in Perth since the event moved west in 2023.
Hosts Australia were beaten 29-7 in the final to snap a ten-game winning streak at HBF Park. The Black Ferns Sevens have won 45 out of 57 SVNS finals and 24 out of 34 against Australia. They have won three of four tournaments in the 2025-26 SVNS season, leading the league standings by four points with three tournaments to play. In the last 11 tournaments, the Black Ferns Sevens have won the Cup eight times with a 53-4 record in all matches.
Kesely Teneti, who was named player of the final and led try scoring in Perth with eight tries in five matches, was moved to tears of joy after the game.
“I’ve never received an award like this. We carry our Whānau on our shoulders. It’s crucial to just do the basics. Aussie is an amazing team, do the basics right,” she said.
Heidi Dennis scored twice in Australia’s 28-26 win over New Zealand in the 2025 decider and turned back the clock, outpacing Pouri-Lane to open the scoring.
Pouri-Lane was unfazed and swiftly responded, supporting a rampant Miller bust. Three Australians fell by Miller’s side as she proved slicker than snot on a glass doorknob.
Mahina Paul lured in two defenders and then left them stranded with a deft pass towards the wing. Teneti sat Teagn Levi snivelling on her wallet with a devastating fend, and it was 12-7 to New Zealand.
Stacey Waaka made a try-saving tackle on Maddison Levi near the end of the first half.
Australia applied pressure after halftime, but a handling error led to a scrum and a 75-metre run by Teneti, who now has 49 SVNS tries.
The Black Ferns Sevens’ relentless defence kept on giving. Katelyn Vahaakolo strolled over from another overlap created by a scrum, and Alena Saili scored her 50th SVNS try, recovering a bobbling ball from a jolting tackle.
The Black Ferns Sevens rallied from twice behind in the first half to foil an inexperienced, audacious France 34-14 in the semi-final.
Anaick Konyi opened the scoring with a long-range break after Pouri-Lane made a misread on defence.
The skipper atoned for her blemish from the kickoff by taking the ball on the full and blasting 60 metres clear.
Alycia Christiaens showcased her dynamism, fending off Teneti on the edge to gallop away for a 60-metre stunner.
Down 14-5, the Black Ferns caught a fortunate break when France lost Kelly Arbey for a deliberate knock on.
Miller breached the blue wall with a trademark swerve and acceleration to close the gap to 14-12. From the restart, France casually tried to clear for touch to bring about halftime. Instead, Waaka charged down the ball and the bounce favoured Paul.
The Black Ferns Sevens regained their poise and structure after the interval with a breathless eight-pass movement finished by Miller. The bench added zest, with Jaymie Kolose elusive, Olive Watherston disruptive defensively, and Vahaakolo scoring two tries. It could have been three but for a rare spillage.
The Black Ferns Sevens were behind 12-10 with four minutes remaining in their opening pool game against Japan. The Black Ferns led twice early with Vaahaakolo rushing in for the opening try in the second minute, but Japan responded immediately through Natsuki Ouchida, who beat a tackle attempt from Vahaakolo.
France has won five of its 37 SVNS Cup semi-finals, while the Black Ferns have won 57 of 65.
Jazmin Felix-Hotham regained the lead for the Black Ferns Sevens, but when Marin Kajiki crossed in the 10th minute, an upset of monumental proportions beckoned.
Miller steadied the ship with a breakout from past halfway, and then Pouri-Lane ensured Japan was out of contention with trademark poise. Powerful Teneti and Sorensen-McGee, with a somersault, finished with a flourish.
Routine wins were achieved against the USA and Fiji in the other two group fixtures, with 11 tries scored and just one conceded.
All Blacks Sevens Fourth
The All Blacks Sevens missed the podium by a whisker, falling to Australia 12-10 in the third-placed playoff.
Ahead 10-5 with two minutes left, the All Blacks Sevens had possession in Australia’s half when a kick deflected cruelly and shifted momentum.
Australia piled on pressure inside the Kiwis 22. There was stoic defence, especially from Fletcher Morgan and Kele Lasaqa, but when Kitiona Vai was yellow-carded for a high tackle, Josh Tunner was too quick from a penalty tap. He scored his 62nd SVNS try and coolly converted as Australia beat New Zealand in the same tournament twice for the first time.
No one would have felt the harsh climax more than Captain Tone Ng Shiu, who set up both tries and rallied his deflated team after a 35-0 whitewash to Fiji in the semi-finals. Fiji won ten matches in a row for the first time in four years of the SVNS. A tough task, two converted tries behind, became almost impossible when Akuila Rokolisoa was red-carded in the sixth minute for a dangerous tackle.
Vuiviwa Naduvalo has scored seven tries in his last three matches against the All Blacks Sevens. George Bose is a ruthless defender, and Sevuloni Mocenacagi is a constant threat.
The All Blacks Sevens qualified for the semis by the barest of margins. An extra-time 26-21 victory over Singapore runners-up France, along with a 24-21 win by Australia over Great Britain thanks to a last-play try by Hadley Tonga, ensured New Zealand’s passage.
In a hotly contested Pool B, Australia emerged unblemished with three wins. New Zealand, France, and Great Britain each had a victory, with the All Blacks Sevens advancing after securing two bonus points for losing their first two matches by seven points or fewer.
The All Blacks Sevens had to beat France in their last group match to advance and delivered a stirring win. In extra time, Regan Ware made a valorous tackle to thwart French danger. The “Waihi Whippet” Morgan followed with a breakdown jackal and a two-handed lineout catch from the penalty kick to touch. This created space for Frank “The Tank” Vaenuku to break the stalemate.
Vaenuku had earlier erased a 14-7 deficit to level the score before Kele Lasaqa intercepted a pass to put the All Blacks Sevens in front.
France refused to yield, and disaster struck when Brady Rush conceded a penalty try and a yellow card for a high tackle near the try line.
At the start of extra time, the undermanned All Blacks Sevens held their nerve with two minutes of exhausting defence before Morgan’s magic.
Eighth-seeded Great Britain threw the cat amongst the pigeons with their upset of the second-seeded All Blacks Sevens. Things appeared to be going swimmingly with a dozen-point lead quickly established.
Lasaqa and Vaenuku combined to create the first try, and then Sofai Notoa-Tipo performed an acrobatic put-down out wide.
Unfortunately, things soon unravelled. The lordly-named Finley Lloyd-Gilmour channelled Prince Obolensky, the 1930s regal who tormented the All Blacks at Twickenham. Lloyd-Gilmour seized on a fumble and sprinted 70 metres for his first SVNS try, then played a part in the movement where Great Britain tied the scores before the interval.
Lloyd-Gilmour propelled Great Britain ahead at halftime, benefiting from more slick interplay.
Vaenuku levelled proceedings with trademark tenacity, but Lloyd-Gilmour capped his princely display when he stood up Michael Manson and surged 70 metres.
Australia beat the All Blacks Sevens for the first time in ten matches, 21-14, to open the group. Ben Dalton was instrumental in scoring and creating a try for Australia. Mason scored and converted with the last salvo to secure a vital bonus point.
Black Ferns Sevens Scoring
Black Ferns Sevens: 34 (Vahaakolo, Felix-Hotham, Miller, Pouri-Lane, Teneti, Sorensen-McGee tries; Sorensen-McGee 2 cons) Japan: 12 (Natsuki Ouchida, Marin Kajiki tries; Michiyo Suda con)
Black Ferns Sevens: 36 (Felix-Hotham, Teneti 3, Paul 2; tries Davis 3 cons) Fiji: 5 (Verenaisi Ditavutu try)
Black Ferns Sevens: 31 (Teneti 2, Pouri-Lane, Waaka, Felix-Hotham tries; Sorensen-McGee 2, Pouri-Lane cons) USA: 0
Black Ferns Sevens: 34 (Pouri-Lane, Miller 2, Paul, Vahaakolo 2 tries; Sorensen-McGee 2 cons) France: 14 (Anaick Konyi, Alycia Christiaens tries; Marie Dupouy, Kelly Arbey cons)
Black Ferns Sevens: 29, Australia: 7
All Blacks Sevens Scoring
All Blacks Sevens: 14 (Vaenuku, Mason tries; Rokolisoa, Manson cons) Australia: 21 (Ben Dowling, Ben Dalton, Jayden Blake; Dowling 3 cons)
All Blacks Sevens: 19 (Vaenuku 2, Notoa-Tipo tries; Notoa-Tipo, Rokolisoa cons) Great Britain: 26 (Finley Lloyd-Gilmour 3, Joshua Radcliffe tries; Roan Frostwick 2, Brent Jackson cons
All Blacks Sevens: 26 (Vai, Vaenuku 2, Lasaqa, Rokolisoa, Notoa-Tipo, Brady Rush cons) France: 21 (Rayan Rebbadj, Josselin Bouhier tries, Penalty Try; Rebbadj 2 cons)
All Blacks Sevens: 0 Fiji: 35 (Vuiviwa Naduvalo 3, Nakani Boginisoko, Pilipo Bukayaro tries; Terio Veilawa, Iowane Teba 2, Ratu Manueli Maisamoa 2 cons)
All Blacks Sevens: 10 (Ware, Vaenuku tries) Australia: 12 (Jayden Blake, Josh Turner tries; Turner con)
Catch HSBC SVNS Highlights on NZR+.
