South Africa men, New Zealand women win the Sevens world championship titles in Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES (AP) — South Africa's men and New Zealand's women have been crowned 2025 Rugby Sevens world champions after winning their respective finals Sunday at the same venue in Los Angeles where the Olympic competition will be played in 2028.
The Olympic and world sevens league champion New Zealand women's lineup beat Australia 31-7 in their final and went unbeaten at the tournament. South Africa beat Spain 19-5 in a surprise men's final between teams which finished third and fourth in the league.
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Spain upset league champion Argentina in the semifinals but couldn't repeat that in the final.
South Africa's physical defense was critical against a Spain team which enjoyed a surplus of possession.
Selwyn Davids scored the only try of the first half, stepping past tackles inside his own 20-meter area and going more than 80 meters to score under the posts.
Spain opened the second half with a try to star Pol Pla which made the score 7-5. South Africa then finished strongly with tries to Mfundo Ndhlovu and Roberto Duarttee.
'It's pretty sweet. I think we owed this one to ourselves,' South Africa captain Siviwi Soyizwapi said.
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New Zealand and Australia met in a women's final between the first- and second-ranked teams in the league. New Zealand won that title with 116 points, 10 clear of the Australians.
The teams have met five times in finals this season, with New Zealand winning the last three after Australia won the first two encounters.
New Zealand opened the scoring with an outstanding individual try to Georgia Miller, her 29th try of the season. Michaela Brake scored off a turnover by captain Sarah Hirini and New Zealand took a 12-0 lead to halftime.
Australia hit back with a solo breakout try to McKenzie Davis, cutting the lead to 12-7. New Zealand then scored three unanswered to complete a comprehensive win.
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Risi Pouri-Lane scored after strong runs by Brake and Miller. Marina Paul scored off Hirini's pass, then Hirini capped the win with a try, celebrating with a fist-pump.
'That feels good. I'm so happy,' Hirini said. "It's nice to be able to take that World Series trophy back home.
'I don't show too much emotion but I probably showed how much it means to this group. After the Olympic gold medal we wanted to show we're a great team and that meant winning the league and winning the World Series.'
Canada beat the United States in the women's bronze-medal playoff, completing a 4-0 sweep of matches against the Americans this season. Asia Hogan-Rochester scored three tries.
In the men's bronze match, New Zealand beat league champion Argentina 38-17 for its first podium finish of the season.
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AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby
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