Such was the physical and mental damage inflicted by the Black Ferns Sevens team on their Australian counterparts during their record-breaking World Series cup final victory today that the New Zealanders must be favourites to win the tournament finale in Paris next month.
That in itself may not be enoughto win the series because of the four-point lead the Australians cling to following the carnage in Langford, Canada, today. But for now the Kiwis will be happy celebrating a near-perfect performance, another sign of the rugby dominance on this side of the Tasman.
They won the cup final 46-0 – a series record and an incredible scoreline which will allow them a measure of revenge after the 31-0 beating handed out by the Australians in Sydney in January, the only the other cup final in which the two teams have met this year. That was the first time ever New Zealand had failed to score in a match.
The Black Ferns Sevens team are the Commonwealth Games champions after their incredible final match over the Aussies on the Gold Coast last month, a victory which took a special extra-time try from Kelly Brazier to achieve.
But the events at Westhills Stadium in British Colombia were something else entirely; a near-perfect display in terms of passing, restarts, defence and attack.
Portia Woodman, the player of the final, started the eight-try rout with an early try, and scored a double, as did Brazier and Niall Williams, who also had claims to be player of the match. Ruby Tui and skipper Sarah Goss also scored.
The key was the aggression the Black Ferns showed on a hard and unforgiving synthetic pitch. The Aussies didn't seem up for it and paid a big price as a result but they only have to make the cup final in Paris in June to be crowned champions.
"I'm really proud of the girls," said skipper Goss afterwards. "We've put in a lot of effort and been on the road for a long time. We're really stoked with the result, and happy to be heading home for some recovery."
It was also a lesson in terms of patience and possession rugby. Such was the accuracy and discipline of the New Zealanders that the Australians failed to mount a single attack on the opposition line.
"If you hold on to the ball you're going to score more tries, so that was our biggest theme going into this final," said Woodman.
