Black Ferns Sevens stay dominant in Vancouver as South Africa claim men’s title

New Zealand’s Black Ferns Sevens continued their strong run in Vancouver on Monday (NZ time), winning the women’s title and extending their lead in the HSBC SVNS Series standings.

In the men's competition, South Africa’s Blitzboks lifted the trophy after beating Spain, who reached their first-ever HSBC SVNS final.

The breakthrough result marks a major moment for Spain on the world sevens circuit, while Pacific powerhouse Fiji remained among the leading teams after finishing third.

But Spain’s run to the final was one of the biggest stories of the weekend, marking the team’s first appearance in a title match on the circuit.

The Black Ferns secured their fourth tournament win in five events this season, strengthening their push towards the World Championships later this year.

Captain Risi Pouri-Lane said the team’s focus was staying sharp despite their success.

Black Fern Jorja Miller scored a landmark try on an entertaining opening day at BC Place in Vancouver. Photo/svns.com

“The biggest thing for us is that you can never get complacent and there’s always things you can work on and get better at," she told a post-match interview. "They make a big difference in the long run.”

New Zealand now lead Australia by eight points in the women’s standings after the Vancouver event.

While the Black Ferns celebrated another title, the South African Blitzboks lifted the men’s trophy after an unbeaten weekend in Canada.

The win adds to their victories in Perth and Cape Town this season and sends them to the top of the men’s standings alongside Fiji.

Both teams are tied on points, although Fiji are narrowly ahead on match points scored across the series so far.

Blitzboks captain Impi Visser said the team was already looking ahead to the next stop on the circuit.

“Sometimes we take it for granted but it's an amazing feeling and we’re really grateful for it,” Visser said after the final.

He said the squad has been working to build consistency after several changes during the season.

“We’ve had a lot of changes - six changes from Perth to now and the thing we said we want to build is consistency.

"I think we’ve shown that through and through. We just need to keep up this momentum going into New York.”

For the Fijians, Vancouver marked another strong performance. The side beat Australia to secure third place, meaning the Pacific team has now reached the podium in all five tournaments of the season so far. But Fiji fell against Spain in the semi-final.

Argentina, who had won the previous four Vancouver events, bounced back from a slow start to finish fifth.

Finishing top of the standings before the upcoming World Championship series will be important, as the leading team avoids the risk of relegation to the second-tier HSBC SVNS 2 competition.

In the women’s tournament, USA ended a long wait for a podium finish after beating France in the third-place play-off: their first medal in nine tournaments.

Canada also gave the home fans something to cheer about by finishing fifth, while Japan took seventh after an exciting play-off win over Great Britain.

The HSBC SVNS Series now moves to New York this coming weekend, the final stop of the regular season before the three-event World Championship begins.

With New Zealand leading the women’s competition and Fiji battling South Africa at the top of the men’s standings, the Pacific islanders remain firmly in the hunt for the overall series titles.

For more details on the HSBC SVNS, click here.