HSBC SVNS Perth: New Zealand women win again, South Africa’s Blitzboks halt Fijian momentum
Black Ferns back up win in Singapore to lead series by four points, while the Fijian men’s failure to win sees their advantage cut to four
South Africa’s rugby sevens men’s team won an HSBC SVNS series tournament for the second time this season when they beat overall leaders Fiji 21-19 in Perth on Sunday.
The Blitzboks, who also won their home Cape Town leg in December, last won in Australia more than a decade ago, but they made up for lost time with an exciting and hard-fought victory that cut the Fijians’ lead in the series to just four points.
Fiji now have 70 points after four of the six legs, while the South Africans are on 66, with New Zealand a spot behind on 62.
On the women’s side, New Zealand won their second tournament in a row when the Black Ferns Sevens beat Australia in the final for the second consecutive week.
The Kiwis followed up their win in Singapore by beating the home side, who were defending their Perth title, by 29-7 – a scoreline that looked more dominant than it was on the ground.
New Zealand are four points ahead of the Australians in the table, but Australia are in turn 20 points ahead of the next best team, the United States.