Aussies no match for Kiwis in sevens world title final
Australia women's sevens side have been unable to defend their world championship title, thumped by a dominant New Zealand in the final of the Los Angeles tournament.
The Australians were outplayed 31-7 by the Kiwis, who also won the regular season title after taking out the last three rounds to relegate the green and gold to runner-up.
It was sweet revenge for New Zealand, who were eliminated by Australia in the semi-finals of last year's world championship in Madrid.
Black Ferns dominance 🖤New Zealand are #HSBCSVNS World Champions in LA🏆#HSBCSVNSLAX pic.twitter.com/aW1n34NUNY
— HSBC SVNS (@SVNSSeries) May 5, 2025
The Olympic champions got off to a flying start with Jorja Miller opening the scoring in the first minute when she out-paced Teagan Levi to touch down.
The New Zealanders then showed their strength in defence to stonewall the Aussie attack before turning over the ball, with Michaela Brake giving her side a 12-0 lead at halftime.
Exciting youngster Mackenzie Davis, who was also a standout in defence, gave the Australians a sniff by scoring a try early in the second half.
But the remainder of the match was one-way traffic as Australia struggled to get their superstar Maddison Levi, the season's top tryscorer, into the game.
Risi Pouri-Lane hit straight back to push the margin out to 10 points before Mahina Paul put the result out of reach, scoring for a 24-7 lead.
Sarah Hirini then ran on to a Miller off-load with the Black Ferns sevens captain punching the air in delight after she touched down at the venue for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
"Man that feels good, I'm so happy, it's nice to be able to take that trophy back home," 32-year-old Hirini told Stan Sport.
"I don't show too much emotion but I probably showed how much it meant to this group.
"After the Olympic gold medal we wanted to show that we were a great team and to us that was winning the league and winning the series and we did it."
Earlier Australia's men lost the fifth place showdown against France 33-7.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
College athletics is about to change forever
Hello everyone, I'm Dan Lucy on the Ozarks First digital desk. Friday night a federal judge approved a $2.8 billion dollar settlement that paves the way for colleges to pay their student-athletes. Starting July first, the old college formula of amateur athletes getting scholarships and meal money is gone. This is all the result of grant house. Grant was a swimmer at Arizona State University who said athletes invest a lot of their time and bring a lot money to the university, and they ought to get a cut of that. He sued the NCAA. And after nearly five years of bickering, both sides agreed to a settlement. And Friday a federal judge approved the deal. Out of that $2.8 billion dollars, colleges and universities will be allowed to pay out as much as $20 million dollars a year to their student athletes. That means about 50 percent of the school's sports revenue will pay athletic salaries. A cut of that money will also pay former athletes who missed out on name, image and likeness money. Where will they get all of that money? They'll try to solicit donations from alumni. And some sports economists say they'll have to make some cuts to things like coaches' pay, facilities and maybe even non-revenue-bearing sports. Richard Paulsen/Michigan Sports Management Professor: 'Another place you might see cuts is Olympic sports…. And now if more money is going to the athletes and football, let's say, that's less money that can be used to cover, you know, scholarships and some of these other sports.' Because of this settlement, teams will have roster limits instead of scholarship limits. That means there may not be any room for walk-ons. Another concern, the big power conference schools will just get richer and bigger. And who decides how much the athletes will get paid? The plan is for the conferences and universities to set the pay scale. One of the biggest and powerful conferences is the Southeastern Conference. Mizzou and Arkansas are a part of that super conference. And SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey reacted to the decision. And he says ultimately it'll be a good thing for college athletics. Greg Sankey/SEC commissioner (it's a good thing…but there will be growing pains) This settlement, and all the money involved was one of the driving forces that moved Missouri State from the Valley to Conference USA. We'll have to wait and see how this all pans out. One things for sure. The old days of college sports in the 50's and 60's is long gone. For more sports watch Ozarks First news at nine and ten. And I'll see you then. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
"I've never seen a man take something so personal" - Magic Johnson on what pushed Michael Jordan's buttons during famous Dream Team practice
"I've never seen a man take something so personal" - Magic Johnson on what pushed Michael Jordan's buttons during famous Dream Team practice originally appeared on Basketball Network. Before the gold medals, before Barcelona, before they stepped onto the Olympic floor as giants among men, the real drama happened in a closed gym. Advertisement The greatest collection of basketball talent the world had ever seen — the 1992 Dream Team — was about global dominance. It was about hierarchy. Pride. Power. And, on one unforgettable day, the winds shifted. Inside that high-stakes practice, East versus West, legends squared off. Magic Johnson, still the voice of the league, led one side. On the other stood Michael Jordan. Younger, hungrier, already crowned but still chasing the mountaintop. The air crackled with tension. And then it snapped. The day Jordan took it personal Magic's team came out gunning. Fast breaks. Ball movement. Confidence. They ran the floor with the kind of joy that comes before the storm. As their lead swelled, he turned to the one man he knew wouldn't let it slide. Advertisement He poked the bear. "I've never seen a man take something so personal and then go out there and take that scrimmage over," Johnson said, on what prompted Jordan's competitiveness to stir. "It was amazing to see him come out and just dominate. And I'm just talking about dominate the best in the game." That was the moment. Not a game-winner. Not a Finals performance. A scrimmage, closed off from the world, with no cameras and no crowds. But that was where the line was drawn. Jordan flipped a switch, he detonated. Possession after possession, he took over. Jumper, layup, steal, dunk. Yes, it wasn't the points that stunned the gym, but the silence afterward felt louder. Even the trash talkers fell quiet. The mood shifted. Advertisement Everyone in that gym could feel it. The old kings had just been dethroned. Jordan wasn't chasing Magic or Bird anymore. He wasn't trying to prove he belonged in their orbit. At the time, he was already a two-time NBA champion with six straight scoring titles and three MVP awards. But that moment in Monte Carlo was about a message. He didn't ask for the throne. He walked in and took it. The mood back at the hotel was lighter, but the message still hung heavy. Jordan didn't let it fade. He walked up to Bird and Magic with that familiar smirk — half-serious, half-serrated — and dropped the line that would echo through basketball history. Advertisement Related: "Dad, you at 17, me at 17, who was better? I said, 'Listen, son...'" - Dominique Wilkins on the moment he realized his son didn't know how great of a player he was There's a new sheriff in town That wasn't bravado. That was the final seal. A verbal stamp on a symbolic passing of power. Magic felt it immediately. "When we knew that the torch was been passed from myself and Larry unto Michael," Johnson said. For Bird, who had led the Celtics to three titles and won three MVP awards while redefining what forward play looked like, the transition was clear. He ruled the '80s alongside Johnson, their rivalry the lifeblood of the NBA's rebirth. But Jordan wasn't cut from their cloth. He was something else entirely. He was cut sharper. Advertisement Magic had owned the Showtime Los Angeles Lakers. Five titles, three MVP awards and a smile that could melt a defense. But even he could admit: Jordan was inevitable. That Dream Team would steamroll through the Olympics with an 8-0 record and a gold medal that never felt in doubt. But the real legacy wasn't what they did to Croatia. It was what happened behind the curtain. That Monte Carlo scrimmage was the changing of the guard when basketball's past handed the keys to its future. Jordan didn't ask for permission. He made his case on the court, in a room full of legends. Then he looked the legends in the eye and told them what time it was. Advertisement And they believed him. Related: "It was easy, beautiful basketball" - The moment Spencer Haywood realized what a genius Magic Johnson was This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jun 9, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Canadian teenager McIntosh smashes 200m medley world record
Summer McIntosh grabbed her second world record in three days with victory in the 200m medley at the Canadian Swimming trials (Michael Reaves) Summer McIntosh smashed the decade-old world record in the women's 200m individual medley on Monday, touching the wall in 2min 05.70sec for her second record at the Canadian swimming trials. The 18-year-old eclipsed Hungarian Katinka Hosszu's mark of 2:06.12 set at the 2015 World Championships to become the first woman to duck under 2:06. Advertisement It was triple Olympic gold medallist McIntosh's second world record of the meet following her 400m freestyle world record on Saturday. The gifted Canadian teenager had also impressed during Sunday's victory in the 800m freestyle, clocking the third-fastest time in history in an event not typically regarded as her strongest. Yet McIntosh showed no signs of fatigue with another dazzling performance to delight the crowd in British Columbia on Monday. "Overall really happy with that time and always just trying to keep pushing forward," McIntosh said after her record-breaking display. Advertisement "It's awesome. 200IM is my main race out of my top five or six races where I really have to execute perfectly. "There's no room for mistakes and it's kind of a sprint event for me, so I'm really happy with that. It gives me a lot of confidence heading into Singapore," added McIntosh, referring to next month's World Championships. Asked how she had prepared herself for Monday's effort after a gruelling weekend, she added: "Just recovering, sleeping as much as possible and eating a lot. "And also mentally calming myself down and taking it one race at a time. Advertisement "I've had a lot of practice at that these past few years." McIntosh laid the foundations for her assault on the record with flawless opening sections in the butterfly and backstroke before an improved breaststroke -- her weakest discipline -- left her on world record pace. From there she turned on the after-burners in the closing freestyle to obliterate Hosszu's record. Mary-Sophie Harvey trailed in second in 2:08.78 with Ashley McMillan third in 2:12.08 rcw/pst
