The Levi sisters combined to end New Zealand’s record-breaking winning streak in sevens as Australia retained the HSBC Svns title in Dubai. In the penultimate match of the Emirates Dubai Sevens weekend, Australia beat the Black Ferns 26-19 on Pitch 1. It means the Australians have now won the women’s tournament each of the four times it has been staged since the end of the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite their dominance in the UAE, it is New Zealand who had been the eminent force in women’s sevens over the past year. The had claimed an unprecedented sequence of wins on their way to taking six tournament titles since Dubai last year. They won in Cape Town, Hamilton, Sydney, Vancouver, Hong Kong and Toulouse as they obliterated the field in last season’s world series. Their only title loss was in Dubai 12 months ago, and it proved an unhappy hunting ground for them again. Teagan Levi received the player of the match award from All Blacks great Dan Carter, after scoring two tries in the final. Her older sister Maddison scored the try that proved to be the winner. Jorja Miller touched down a hat-trick for the defeated New Zealanders.
