HSBC SVNS: New Zealand turn on the style to defeat Fiji in Vancouver

New Zealand added the Vancouver HSBC SVNS title to their Cape Town crown as Fiji's fairytale run to the final ended in a 41-7 loss.

In the first meeting of the teams in a SVNS series final, Fijiana faced a daunting task of ending New Zealand's run of 17 wins at BC Place.

It seemed they were still trying to process the shock of losing Ilisapeci Delaiwau to the sin-bin for kicking the ball away when HSBC Player of the Final Risi Pouri-Lane scored.

Manaia Nuku crossed the line too before the little battling Fijian came back on, and when Stacey Waaka scored her ninth of the weekend after a Jorja Miller snipe and Miller's alertness at a penalty resulted in her scoring the fourth, the 22-0 lead at half-time proved to be insurmountable.

Michaela Brake and Mahina Paul scored cup final tries in the second half to add the gloss, with a Sesenieli Donu lung-burster a temporary boost for Fiji, but a memorable moment was the sight of the teenager Maia Davis grinning broadly as she scored on her debut.

"We love coming here to Vancouver," said the Black Ferns skipper Sarah Hirini after her team clinched their third straight title in Vancouver.

"We love playing our Fijiana sisters. They’re an amazing team. It was a pretty cool Oceania final.

“It’s nice to have Stacey back and Maia debuting. You could see how happy she was running in for her first try.”

Fiji will have earned themselves many new fans with their displays under the dome. A further reward was their move up the HSBC SVNS table from 11th to 8th place.

Third-place playoff

Australia maintained their 100% record against Japan to take the bronze medal, while Japan's fourth place was their best finish ever.

The underdogs took the lead when Hanako Utsumi picked up on the second phase of the attack after Chiaki Saegusa broke from her own 10m line but was caught by Kiiahla Duff yet still managed to keep the play moving.

Tia Hinds jinked through to make it 7-7 before Yukino Tsujisaki was sin-binned for knocking the ball down with her hand.

Faith Nathan used the numerical advantage to put the Australians 14-7 up at the break but Tsujisaki made up for her absence with a try once she re-entered the fray. Japan's valiant efforts fell short as the impressive Charlotte Caslick and Hinds went across for a 26-12 victory.

Semi-finals

Fiji took to the pitch just after their men's team had lost their semi-final against South Africa. They faced a Japan outfit that had defeated them 19-14 in their pool contest but that was making their first semi-final appearance.

Fijiana got off to a flier, Adita Milinia running through the middle to score within 15 seconds. Ilisapeci Delaiwau ran from her own 10m line to cross over before Sesenieli Donu made it three converted tries by half-time.

Yukino Tsujisaki put the finishing touch to slick Japan interplay but, as the team wilted, Milinia's angled run in to the posts from the halfway line sealed a 28-7 win for Fiji and a place in the final.

A Stacey Waaka-inspired New Zealand team ensured they would be Fiji's opponents. It is the ninth time they have reached the final in Canada, this time the result of a convincing 29-10 win over Australia.

Waaka was first to score but Charlotte Caslick's linebreak meant Australia soon trailed by only two points. Scores by Michaela Brake and Jorja Miller extended the Black Ferns' lead to 19-5 by the break.

Teagan Levi was only just back on the pitch from a lower-leg injury when she goose-stepped, made some yards and offloaded to Faith Nathan for her sixth try of the event. Miller and Waaka's combinations have been a joyous feature of the Vancouver SVNS. They worked together again for Waaka's hat-trick ahead of Kelsey Tenet's final score.

Playoffs

Crystal Kaua's Brazil earned their best ever placing as they finished fifth by beating Great Britain 19-10.

Grace Crompton's pace helped her grab a brace for Britain, but even she was unable to catch the mesmerising Thalia Costa, her second try of the match taking her international tally to 111. Yasmin Soares provided Brazil’s other try.

Canada won a pulsating seventh-place playoff against USA in no small part thanks to Asia Hogan-Rochester. Straight from kick-off she had the home fans on their feet when she collected the high ball, spliced the Americans and enjoyed the acclaim of the crowd throughout her lengthy sprint to the posts.

Florence Symonds scored a double, aided by Olivia Apps, to make it 17-0, before Hogan-Rochester somehow got back to prevent Ariana Ramsey scoring, though Ramsey got on the scoresheet either side of half-time.

Olivia Sarabura scored her first Canada try and Symonds rounded off a hat-trick for a 27-10 win.

"We’ve worked our entire careers for moments like these," said Hogan-Rochester afterwards.

France kept their focus to deal with a first-half China comeback and ease clear to clinch ninth place with a 26-12 result.

Wang Wanyu and Zhou Yan had overturned Alycia Christiaens' score but France steadied when Valentine Lothoz bulldozed her way through from halfway to establish a 14-12 lead.

Lou Noel showed good footwork to go over the line, and Hawa Tounkara was on hand to stretch over after a brave offload under intense pressure by Christiaens one metre out.

Two tries each for Marta Cantabrana and Maria Garcia eased Spain to 11th place in BC Place as they beat Ireland 28-5. Alana McInerney got on the scoresheet for the Irish.