Rugby: Stern defence earns Black Ferns Sevens a a trans-Tasman final in Sydney

Portia Woodman of New Zealand. Photo / Getty Images

Rampant New Zealand have set up a heavyweight trans-Tasman final at the women's sevens rugby world series tournament in Sydney.

The Black Ferns will face hosts Australia in Sunday's decider after both teams brushed aside their quarter-final and semi-final opponents.

Both carried on their dominant form from pool play, executing brilliantly on attack and barely giving their opponents a sniff with the ball.

Defending series champions New Zealand crushed Ireland 36-0 first up on Saturday, followed by a 26-0 whitewash of Sydney title-holders Canada.

Speedsters Portia Woodman and Michaela Blyde maintained their remarkable scoring feats.

Both bagged a double against the outclassed Irish and shared one each against the more organised Canadians.

"Yeah, [we're] really happy," said Black Ferns star Ruby Tui after her side's semi-final win.

"Canada are a quality side, they always bring it to us.

"We're really lucky to have consistent performances, and we're here to to the job one more time."

🎥 interview:A very happy @rubytui of @BlackFerns spoke to us after a clinical 26 - 0 win over Canada in the semi finals of the #Sydney7s pic.twitter.com/1utQAlZVlK

— HSBC SVNS (@SVNSSeries) January 27, 2018

New Zealand's win lifted its points tally for the tournament to 174, while they have conceded just 19 points.

Olympic champions Australia are more ominous on that front, scoring 182 and keeping a clean sheet in all their five matches.

The hosts thumped Spain 29-0 and Russia 31-0 on Saturday, setting up a shot at two series wins from two.

While the Black Ferns are hailed for their supreme tryscoring exploits, Tui identified defence as an integral part of New Zealand's success in Sydney over the weekend.

"I think to be a successful team in seven you have to [pride yourself on defence]," the 26-year-old said.

"New Zealand as a whole always talk about priding ourselves on defence. Aussie are good a [defence], Canada are bloody good at [defence] as well, so you've got to take those things game by game and remember that defence is all part of that attack.

"I'm stoked to be able to play our rivals against the Tasman, it's always good footy, I love playing them."

Tui and her Black Ferns teammates will have to maintain their high standards both on attack and on defence when they face Australia in today's final if they are to stand a chance at claiming their first title of the season.

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