The Black Ferns Sevens have rallied from 12 points down early to defeat United States 26-12 and capture the Cape Town Sevens women's crown.
Within seconds of kickoff, the NZ women found themselves on the backfoot against the Americans, who had already toppled defending champions Australia in the semis. Nia Tolliver had the US ahead with the opening try, before Alyssa Porter stretched the advantage with another, converted by Kayla Cannett.
The Kiwis had to dig deep and snatched the lead before halftime, with tries to Jorja Miller and Jazmin Felix-Hotham, both converted by Risi Pouri-Lane.
After the break, they tightened the screws on their rivals, not allowing any further scoring, while adding two more tries of their own to Kelsey Teneti and Dhys Faleafaga.
"I'm so happy," reflected captain Sarah Hirini. "We were so disappointed with last weekend, but I'm stoked that we're going home with some goodies for Christmas and can't wait to share with the rest of the group back home."
The two-time Olympic champions were beaten by archrivals Australia at Dubai last week, but have begun the new world series season without several of the stars that have dominated the international stage over the past decade. Some — like all-time top tryscorer Portia Woodman-Wickliffe and top pointscorer Tyla King —have retired from the shortened format, while others are taking a break, before rejoining the programme.
This result marks the Ferns' third title at Cape Town, after previous victories in 2019 and 2022.
"Look at all the All Blacks jerseys, Black Ferns Sevens jerseys hanging in the stadium," said Hirini. "We love Cape Town, we love South Africa and they always turn up for us."
The winners were welcomed afterwards by Springboks captain Siya Kolosi, with Miller named Player of the Final. The NZ women reached the final with a 43-0 romp over France.
The cut-throat nature of the South African tournament — contested over four pools of three teams, with only the winners progressing direct to semifinals — eliminated the All Blacks Sevens from contention early, beaten by Olympic champions France in pool play. They edged Great Britain in consolation playoffs, but lost to defending series champions Argentina to finish sixth.
Hosts South Africa beat France 26-14 in the men's final.
The series takes a break over Christmas-New Year and resumes in Perth on January 24-26.
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