The Black Ferns Sevens are the latest exemplars of the old adage 'Defence wins championships.'
There was uncertainty about how they would fare in Langford, Canada, for the penultimate leg of the Women's World Series. They were missing Sarah Goss, Kelly Brazier and Portia Woodman to the Black Ferns
But they responded with some style and no little grit, conceding just five tries in their six games and holding off hosts Canada 17-7 in a bruising Cup final.
The upshot is that they now sit on 96 competition points, 14 clear of Canada and Australia, who could only manage the bronze medal with a 26-12 win over France. New Zealand should only need to make the Cup semifinals next month in France to regain the World Series title.
New Zealand and Canada were also finalists last month in Japan, where New Zealand edged the win 17-14. But in the early exchanges, it looked like New Zealand would run away with the game. They monopolised possession and ran in tries to Michael Blyde, her ninth (and a solo effort) of a tournament in which she filled Portia Woodman's role with aplomb, and skipper Tyla Nathan-Wong, who scored off a lineout move.