New Zealand beat hosts to win at Atlanta 7s

http://www.worldrugby.org/photos/61992A day of sensational rugby in Atlanta finished with New Zealand winning another round of the 2014-15 World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series and edging closer to Olympic qualification.

The defending champions beat their hosts USA 50-12 in front of a raucous crowd in America’s deep south.

With Tournament MVP Kayla McAlister at her scintillating best in Atlanta and Portia Woodman dotting down for five tries in the title decider, New Zealand increased their lead at the top of the standings to 12 points over Australia and Canada at the halfway stage of the six-round series.

“It was a pleasing weekend,” said New Zealand coach Sean Horan, whose side had beaten USA 57-0 in the pool stages, after the final whistle. “It was a test of who were are. It carried through to the final but there were some times when we really had to pull it out.”

Horan also mentioned the increased competition in the series, with Russia running the world champions very close on day one in Atlanta.

“The game is growing and we can’t take anything for granted now. We’re number one and we wear a black jersey and everyone’s gunning for us. That’s the reality and it’s a great thing for the sport.”

Meanwhile, USA captain Kelly Griffin was disappointed with the final result but happy with the Women’s Eagles’ performance over the course of the weekend.

“We’re really happy to make it to the final. We’ve been working really hard. Obviously we have work to do but we’re certainly improving from tournament to tournament.”

New Zealand, Australia and England are the only teams to have won a Women’s Sevens Series tournament and Griffin says her side could be team number four before the end of the current campaign in May.

“I definitely think it’s in us, it’s possible. That’s our goal – to go out there and win a tournament this season on the circuit,” said Griffin after her side climbed a place to fifth in the standings, now just two points behind France in fourth.

The home team shocked the series early in the day, when Ric Suggitt’s charges beat Australia 10-5 in the day’s third quarter-final. Going into the match as favourites, Australia took the lead with a fine try from Emilee Cherry.

But, cheered on by the home crowd, the Women’s Eagles fought back and a took advantage of a yellow card to the Australians with a good effort by Kathryn Johnson. The match ebbed and flowed until the very last minute when super-sub Kristen Thomas went over in the corner to knock the Australians out early and ensure their place in the semis.

The other quarter-finals saw New Zealand easily beat Brazil thanks to a hat-trick from McAlister and Canada defeat France, while England were beaten 24-0 by a strong Russian effort.

The first semi-final saw New Zealand and Canada serve up another classic between the two sides. The Canadians, missing influential captain Jen Kish after an injury on day one, matched the Kiwis with tries for most of the game. A last-minute try from Canada meant Mandy Marchak had to make a touchline conversion to force extra-time, but the kick drifted agonisingly wide of the left upright and New Zealand survived 24-22 to reach a 10th successive Series final.

USA made easier work of their Russian opponents in the second semi-final, scoring twice in the first half and again in the second to ensure only their second appearance in a Women’s Sevens Series Cup final.

Elsewhere, a thrilling finish saw Fiji’s women beat a resilient Spanish side 17-12 to win the Bowl, before Australia – shorn of stars Cherry (knee) and Charlotte Caslick (concussion) beat France 26-17 in the Plate final. Canada finished the tournament in third place again after beating Russia 28-17.

The action now heads to a new destination of Langford in Canada for round four of the World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series on 18-19 April, which will be another important stop on the Road to Rio.

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