Hong Kong Sevens: New Zealand hat-trick star Blyde hails ‘really special’ win, as Black Ferns grab back-to-back titles
- Defending champions cruise past USA 36-7 to win for second year running at Hong Kong Stadium
- Michaela Blyde scores three tries in her side’s triumph, and says she’s ‘very proud’ of team’s performance
New Zealand’s women won the Sevens for the second year running on Sunday, with a decisive 36-7 victory over USA in Hong Kong Stadium.
Victory moved them up to first in the HSBC SVSN Series on points difference, leaping frogging rivals Australia who they beat in the semi-finals and ultimately finished third.
The Black Ferns have now won the past three tournaments in the series, picking up gold in Vancouver and Los Angeles before coming to Hong Kong.
“To come back to Hong Kong with back-to-back wins was really special,” said Michaela Blyde, who scored a hat-trick in the final. “We’re really proud of the way we performed today.”
On the pitch, New Zealand made light work of an impressive USA side that smashed Fiji and brushed aside France on their way to the final.
Jorja Miller started the evening with a sprint from the 22 and it was the speed of New Zealand that punished USA throughout.
On multiple occasions the Kiwis worked the ball wide and created space for Blyde, whose second came when they had a player advantage, following Steph Rovetti’s yellow card.
There were some signs of life from the USA at the beginning of the second half.
Ilona Maher broke clear leading to Alex Sedrick’s first try of the tournament and USA’s only one of the game, bringing the score to 17-7.
But that just seemed to inspire New Zealand, who smashed in another 19 points in five minutes to put the game to bed.
“It’s not really something that I aim for,” Blyde said of her three tries. “The goal for us is to just play our best in the final … And if that means me scoring three tries, then I’m happy with that.”
New Zealand’s Shiray Kaka won the tournament award for best and fairest player for a weekend that included four tries and several dominating displays, a significant U-turn given her omission from the squad for the tournament in Perth, Australia.
For the Americans, the final was a game too far, and Sedrick said they were disappointed because “we didn’t convert on things that we knew we could do better and that’s the kicker”.
But she was also full of praise for her opponents and the way they approached the game.
“They’re a very good team and they have very good ball movement,” she said. “They identify space really quickly. So if we happen to leave it on the left side, you know, it seemed like that they were going to exploit it.”
Sedrick had tears in her eyes as she lined up for the national anthem pregame, and other members of her squad were also clearly emotional.
On top of that, the sell-out crowd was bouncing, bringing another level to the atmosphere on the last super Sunday the stadium is expected to host.
“It’s been a while since we were in a cup final, and it’s something that in every tournament we strive to do,” she said. “To play in the final and to have this be the last that will be played in this stadium, we were really excited.
“We love the South Stand, we see a lot of American flags in the stands.”
