Black Ferns Sevens and All Blacks Sevens open season with titles in Dubai

The Black Ferns Sevens and the All Blacks Sevens have opened the season in style with titles at the Dubai Sevens.

The Black Ferns Sevens defeated Australia 29-14 in the final followed by the men’s team also beating Australia, winning 26-22.

It’s the first time since the Singapore event in 2024 that both New Zealand teams won an event at the same tournament, with the All Blacks Sevens failing to lift a trophy last season.

The Black Ferns Sevens eased by Japan 31-5 in the semi-finals with Mahina Paul crossing over for a double, while Australia eased by Fiji 31-10 to set up a New Zealand-Australia final for the fourth straight time in Dubai.

In the final, New Zealand went out to a 17-0 lead at the break when Stacey Waaka, Kelsey Teneti and Jorja Miller all scored in the first half. That was extended with Risi Pouri-Lane diving over shortly after halftime to make it 22-0 before a Jazmin Felix-Hotham yellow card opened the door for Australia.

A Heidi Dennis try made it 22-7 but any hopes of a comeback were quashed when Miller ran in again with a minute to play. The win broke Australia’s five-year run in Dubai as the Black Ferns Sevens lifted the trophy for the first time since 2019.

“It means everything. Dubai is probably the favourite stop of the series, so to get a win here over a strong Australia side...I’m so proud of the girls,” player of the final Miller said.

“We knew we just had to come out there and play our game, start strong and let the rest follow.”

In the men’s competition, league champions Argentina and grand final winners South Africa both failed to get out of their group under the new eight-team, two-pool format.

New Zealand topped Pool B, ahead of Australia, with both teams advancing to the final with semifinal wins over Fiji and France respectively.

The men’s final was a much closer affair with Australia taking the early lead before tries to Dylan Collier and Akuila Rokolisoa saw New Zealand take a 12-5 advantage into halftime.

A Sione Molia try early in the second half extended the lead before Australia hit back through William Cartwright and Harry Wilson, not to be mistaken for his namesake, Wallabies captain Harry Wilson, to make it 19-15 with just over two minutes to play.

But Jayden Keelan closed out the win with New Zealand’s fourth try before Wilson, son of Rugby World Cup winner David Wilson, scored a late one for Australia.

The next event is in Cape Town this weekend.