Portia Woodman scored for New Zealand. Photo / Getty
The New Zealand women's sevens team have been handed a stunning loss to USA in the quarter-finals of the Dubai sevens.
The reigning series champions fell to a 14-12 defeat after a late converted try handed the Americans a shock victory.
A Kelsi Stockert try, four minutes after the final
hooter, was converted by Alev Kelter to seal New Zealand's fate.
Naya Tapper also scored early for the Americans, while Gayle Broughton and Portia Woodman were the scorers for New Zealand. Woodman's try had given New Zealand a 12-7 lead, but they couldn't hold on under a wave of pressure.
The defeat was a greater shock considering they had beaten USA 45-14 the day before. New Zealand had looked on course to go all the way after a day one where they defeated South Africa 40-0 and France 28-7, before thrashing the USA.
However, the Americans managed a win in the rematch when it counted, booting the four-time champions out at the quarter-final stage.
Remarkably, it was just the third time in their history that the New Zealand women's sevens have been knocked out before the semifinals, having been defeated by Australia and England in quarter-finals in 2015.
New Zealand will now play for competition points in the second-tier plate section of the draw.
