Rugby: Black Ferns Sevens beat Canada to win Dubai tournament

  • 01/12/2018

The Black Ferns Sevens have racked up their second-straight victory on the World Series circuit, beating Canada 26-14 in the Dubai final.

Playmaker Tyla Nathan-Wong scored two tries in the decider, as the 'Sevens Sisters' continued their perfect start to the season, having won the Glendale tournament last month.

Theresa Fitzpatrick opened the scoring, but Canada hit back immediately through Ghislaine Landry, which put them in the lead.

Nathan-Wong then scored for New Zealand right on halftime, giving the Black Ferns held a 12-7 lead at the break.

Gayle Broughton increased that lead for the Black Ferns, only for Canada to respond through a long run-in by Julia Greenshields.

Canada then lost Bianca Farella to the sin-bin for a high tackle, and in her absence Fitzpatrick sold a dummy before releasing Nathan-Wong for her second try.

The Black Ferns Sevens lead the standings with 40 points, six ahead of Canada with the USA on 32.

The Black Ferns Sevens beat Russia 31-0 in the quarter-finals and the USA 22-0 in the semi-finals.

New Zealand scored opening-day victories over Kenya (34-7), Russia (29-12) and Ireland (24-17) to top Pool A on Thursday (Friday morning NZ time).

Captain Sarah Goss was player of the tournament.

"Dubai is one of my favourite places to play," said Goss.

"It's been an amazing couple of days, and I'm proud of the efforts of the girls. The new girls thrived, and they will get better and better with the opportunity."

The next round is in Sydney in February, although the Black Ferns Sevens will play in a four-team women's Fast Four tournament at the Hamilton Sevens.

While the tournament won't be part of the women's World Series, this invitational event is a start in getting to that point, as the Black Ferns' players would like to play a leg of the series on their home turf.

The four-team tournament will feature teams from France, China and England on January 26-27. Each team will face each other once with the top two teams to play off in a gold-medal match, while the bottom two play for bronze.

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