Allan Bunting has dream start as Black Ferns Sevens head coach

WORLD CHAMPIONS: Black Ferns Sevens celebrate after clinching the world title at the Clermont-Ferrand tournament in France. PHOTO: photosport

Revenge is indeed sweet.

The Black Ferns Sevens have won the 2016/2017 HSBC World Rugby Women's Sevens Series in a major boost to the sport after losing to Australia in the final of the Rio Olympics last August.

The Black Ferns Sevens defeated Australia 22-7 in the final of the Clermont-Ferrand tournament early this morning (NZT) to put the seal on a remarkable series.

The Kiwis won five out of the six tournaments and lost only one game in the process to finish 16 points clear of Australia.

For Rotorua's Allan Bunting his first campaign as head coach - after being assistant coach to Tauranga local Sean Horan since 2012 - could not have gone any better.

"This year for us was about the foundations for the next three years, about getting a good base of players that can give us some continuity over the next three years and some consistency," Bunting said.

"We have managed to get that a bit earlier than we thought so it probably did exceed our expectations. Our goal was to win two tournaments but the players didn't want to stop there. They wanted to keep going and going so it turned out really well."

Bay of Plenty speedster Michaela Blyde was the top try scorer for the series with 40.

She cleaned up at the end-of-season awards that followed the tournament in Clermont. Blyde was named top try scorer, DHL Impact Player of the Season and featured in the end of season Dream Team alongside teammates Ruby Tui and Portia Woodman.

"I didn't come here thinking about those bonuses, we came here to win the tournament and the series. We just wanted to make the final and win," Blyde said.

"But it's been my favourite season of all time. It's been a long five years for me and I've enjoyed every season. But holding the series trophy is pretty new and it's been the highlight of my season."

Bunting says there is more to Blyde's game than just blistering pace to the try line.

"She has been outstanding all series but it is not just about the tries she scored. She is also one of the best defenders on the wing, not many people get past her.

"She also turns over a lot of ball and does a lot of work off the ball so she is pretty important and has had an amazing year."

Bunting would love to be able to base his players full-time at the outstanding facilities at the University of Waikato Adams High Performance Centre in Mount Maunganui.

"Nothing much has really changed. We are still probably not together enough but we are working on that at the moment. We only come together a week before we travel away. We are not centralised like the other countries have been for a few years now," he said.

"But that is the plan to be together weekly from the next season on. In terms of growth and potential we still have a lot of learning to do and being there consistently would enable us to get that maximum growth in the next couple of years going into Tokyo."