New Zealand have completed a weekend of rugby dominance at the Sydney Sevens, beating Australia’s Olympic champion women’s outfit 34-10 in the final at Spotless Stadium.
The win was New Zealand’s 48th straight in all competitions and completes a perfect year, given their last loss came against the Australians in Sydney last season.
Australia hung with the Black Ferns for the bulk of the first half, with Emma Sykes’ chip and chase to herself down the left wing drawing the sides level at 5-5.
But Sharni Williams’ yellow card from the restart swung the contest, with the hosts leaking two tries in stoppage time to trail 17-5 at the break.
Michaela Blyde had a double when she tore through the Australian defence to start the second stanza and create a 24-5 advantage.
Sykes rallied with another five-pointer before Stacey Waaka’s second try sealed the result.
Australia’s grand final berth propelled them to equal third with Canada – up from fourth at the start of the tournament – in an Olympic qualifying year where the top-four earn an automatic berth in Tokyo.