Black Ferns Sevens edged in final
Australia has won the Cape Town Sevens for the second time, dethroning the Black Ferns Sevens as champions 26-12 in the final.
Australia decisively claimed their 10th victory in 32 SVNS finals against New Zealand, quickly jumping out to a 26-0 lead thanks to a clinical defensive performance.
Australia co-captain Isabella Nasser secured an early turnover, which led to a try by Heidi Dennis moments later. Off the restart, Maia Davis took possession but was immediately shoved into touch. Teagan Levi then extended Australia’s advantage by receiving a precise pass from their other co-captain, Madison Ashby.
Kelsey Teneti and Jorja Miller (MVP of the Dubai Cup final) attempted to rally the Ferns. However, a try was disallowed by the TMO, and the Black Ferns’ usual accuracy was lacking. In the final play of the first half, Australia was awarded a penalty. Nasser quickly tapped and scampered clear, moving the score to an insurmountable 19-0 at halftime.
Shortly after the break, when Teagan Levi set up her prolific sister Maddison Levi for a try, it seemed the Black Ferns Sevens could face an even bigger defeat than the 31-0 loss they endured in Sydney in 2018. However, Teneti and Stacey Waaka responded with two late tries to restore some respectability to the scoreline.
Australia co-captain Madison Ashby reflected afterwards: “Cape Town is one of the best tournaments out there. We spoke about winning the 50-50 moments and we did that.”
Earlier, the Black Ferns Sevens had to work hard to foil France 19-7 in the semi-finals. France opened the scoring with a long-range effort by Alycia Christiaens as they sought to end a five-match losing streak against New Zealand dating back to the Hong Kong Sevens in 2024.
However, Miller helped New Zealand level the score by halftime with a trademark burst that created an opportunity for two-time Olympic gold medallist Stacey Waaka. Jazmin Felix-Hotham seized control in the second half, scoring 30 seconds after the resumption and then providing a pass for an Alena Saili try that secured a spot in the final.
On the opening day, the Black Ferns Sevens maintained their unbeaten record against Great Britain (13-0) and Fiji, with 25 wins and a draw.
A highlight of the victory over Great Britain was the debut tries in the Black jersey for young Auckland flyers Danii Mafoe and Braxton Sorensen-McGee, who also added four conversions.
Against Fiji, Miller, who now has 88 SVNS tries, almost single-handedly won the game with a hat-trick. It was Teneti's own hat-trick that highlighted a convincing 38-12 victory over the USA, marking a sharp reversal from the shocking loss in Dubai, as the Black Ferns Sevens had only lost eight of 48 matches against the USA.
“We knew that wasn’t good enough, and we hold our standards very high,” Teneti said on RugbyPass TV when asked about last weekend’s loss to the USA. “We knew we had a lot of work to do… our main goal was to redo what we did last weekend and just show the USA a good game.”
As the series moves to Singapore in January 2026, Australia and New Zealand both sit atop the SVNS standings with a Cup win each. New Zealand won in Singapore in 2025, but Australia won the Perth tournament, which follows a week later.
Black Ferns Sevens Results
Black Ferns Sevens: 38 (Mafoe, Sorensen-McGee, Vahaakolo 2, Setefano, Paul tries; Sorensen-McGee 4 cons) Great Britain: 10 (Nia Fajeyisan, Abigail Pritchard tries)
Black Ferns Sevens: 38 (Davis, Teneti 3, Miller, Vahaakolo tries; Pouri-Lane 3 cons, Davis con) USA: 12 (Susan Adegoke, Sariah Ibarra tries; Ibarra con)
Black Ferns Sevens: 31 (Teneti, Miller 3, Sorensen-McGee tries; Pouri-Lane 3 cons) Fiji: 19 (Sesenieli Donu, Vika Nakacia, Adita Milinia tries; Lavena Cavuru 2 cons)
Black Ferns Sevens: 19 (Waaka, Felix-Hotham, Saili tries; Davis 2 cons) France: 7 (Alycia Christiaens try, con)
Black Ferns Sevens: 12 (Teneti, Waaka tries; Pouri-Lane con) Australia: 26 (Heidi Dennis, Teagan Levi, Isabella Nasser, Maddison Levi tries; Teagan Levi 2 cons, Dennis con)
All Blacks Sevens Fall to Fifth
Unfortunately, the All Blacks Sevens were unable to replicate their Dubai Cup success, finishing fifth after recovering from two opening-day defeats.
As they did in Dubai, New Zealand started strongly by defeating Great Britain 29-12, thanks to a bulldozing performance from Frank Vaenuku.
This victory set up a mouthwatering clash with the tournament hosts and eventual cup winners, South Africa. The All Blacks Sevens controlled the ill-disciplined Blitzboks in the first half, with Impi Visser, playing in his 48th SVNS tournament, and Shilton van Wyk, in his 29th SVNS tournament, both receiving yellow cards. Additionally, a converted try from New Zealand captain Tone Ng Shiu put the visitors ahead 7-0 at halftime.
However, South Africa rallied after the break. Van Wyk redeemed himself by scoring a try in the 10th minute, bringing South Africa into the lead. Energised by a crowd of 50,000, which included Springboks Rugby World Cup-winning captain Siya Kolisi, South Africa became rampant. A try scored by Ronald Brown in the 14th minute sealed New Zealand's fate. In their history, South Africa has won 41 out of 107 SVNS matches against New Zealand, with three of the last six encounters split evenly.
With veterans Regan Ware, Rob Rush, and vice-captain Sione Molia missing from the Dubai victory due to injury, debuts were earned by Bradley Tocker and Sam Clarke. Beating Fiji in the last group game to reach the cup quarter-finals was always going to be a tall order, and sure enough, a 35-5 defeat reflected the sentiment. Vuiviwa Naduvalo has emerged as a formidable talent. At the same time, veteran Terio Veilawa tormented the Kiwis, marking New Zealand's largest defeat to Fiji since a 50-7 embarrassment in Dubai in 2018. Overall, Fiji narrowly leads New Zealand in all SVNS contests, with a 65-61 record.
On the second day, the All Blacks Sevens rallied with a try from Jayden Keelan just 51 seconds into the match against Australia, setting a positive tone. Keelan contributed again by assisting Scott Gregory's try and then scoring another himself, giving New Zealand a comfortable 21-7 lead at halftime.
Australia charged back into contention, tying the scores, but fell short, mirroring their performance in Dubai, as Ben Dalton lost the ball in the final moments. The All Blacks Sevens lead Australia 85-19 in all SVNS contests.
Post-game, Sofai Notoa-Tipo told RugbyPass TV, “We still had belief in the team. We didn’t make it through, but we still believed in the crew that was here. We just wanted to finish off this last day. It’s always tough to play against the Aussies; they’re pretty fit boys… always good to battle against a team like Australia every now and then.”
In the playoff for fifth place, the All Blacks Sevens repeated their earlier success over Great Britain, winning 27-12. Both Tocker and Clarke scored their first tries for the All Blacks Sevens, along with Fletcher Morgan and Riley Williams, in earlier matches. Notoa-Tipo, in just his ninth tournament, performed solidly, while Gregory hadn’t played for New Zealand in six years.
All Blacks Sevens Results
All Blacks Sevens: 29 (Vaenuku 2, Rokolisoa, Morgan, Williams tries; Notoa-Tipo 2 cons) Great Britain: 12 (Roan Frostwick, Charlton Kerr tries; Damien Hoyland con)
All Blacks Sevens: 14 (Ng Shiu, Gregory tries; Notoa-Tipo, Williams cons) South Africa: 19 (Donavan Don, Shilton van Wyk, Ronald Brown tries; Tristan Leyds, Brown cons)
All Blacks Sevens: 5 (Keelan try) Fiji: 35 (Vuiviwa Naduvalo 2, Pilipo Bukayaro, Terio Veilawa 2 tries; Veilawa 2, Waisea Nacuqu 2, George Bose cons)
All Blacks Sevens: 28 (Keelan 2, Gregory, Notoa-Tipo tries; Notoa-Tipo 2 cons, Keelan, Williams cons) Australia: 21 (Ben Dowling, James McGregor, Josh Turner tries; Dietrich Roache 3 cons)
All Blacks Sevens: 27 (Clarke, Notoa-Tipo 2, Tocker, Williams tries; Notoa-Tipo con) Great Britain: 12 (Rory McHaffie, Ryan Apps tries; Tom Burton con)
Watch the highlights on NZR+ HERE.
