Hong Kong SVNS - Women, Day Three
LIVE UPDATES: We bring you all the women’s drama on Day Three at Hong Kong, Round Six of the SVNS World Series.
SVNS 2024 title rivals Australia and New Zealand are set for a hotly anticipated women’s semifinal showdown on Sunday.
Follow all the Day Three action below!
Final
United States 7 – 36 New Zealand
The wait is over as the two best teams in this tournament go head to head. New Zealand got the start they wanted through Georgia Miller who streaked away for the first try of the match. Michaela Blyde would follow up with New Zealand’s second try and the United States desperately needed to get their hands on the ball and fast. A yellow card for a tackle in the air would not help their cause as New Zealand took advantage of an extra player on the field to get their third try and one hand on the cup.
The Eagles would keep their hopes alive with a try before half-time but a hat-trick by Michaela Blyde would be the nail in the coffin as New Zealand stayed clinical on attack running in all the tries in the second half to secure themselves another Hong Kong SVNS tournament in style.
Third-place play-off
France 21 – 24 Australia
It’s a matchup that’s too close to call between two teams that were unbeaten leading up to the semi-finals. Australia get on the scoreboard first with some blistering pace shown by Madison Ashby. France would comeback in the first half with a vengeance leading at the break by two tries to one. The tussle in the second half would remain as Australia grinded it out to narrow the deficit to two points with a minute left in the game. They win a tight-head in the scrum which is the moment of the match as the ball gets spread to the wing for Madison Levi to sneak in the corner for the try and snatch the victory from French jaws as Australia come away with the bronze.
Semifinals
United States 19 – 5 France
A dogfight right from the onset. USA and France showcased a physical battle as they looked to overpower the other with strength and a direct approach. France were the first to fall to their knee after USA worked a speedy try passed them with Kelter. Jacquet responded in kind, getting France over closer to the edge of the pitch. USA reestablished their lead with another converted try, which gave them a decent cushion going into the break. Second half both sides were at a stalemate, tossing bodies at the opposition looking to bulldoze a path. USA eventually swapped strength for speed with seconds to play and shot through a gap to pull further ahead and seal the deal, making it to the final.
New Zealand 28 – 14 Australia
The second Women’s Semifinal was a riveting contest between two rival nations, trading blow for blow with exciting runs and nifty passes that unlocked the opposition defence. Both stars, Levi and Blyde, got their names on the scoresheet, adding a level of individual brilliance to an already high profile match. They went into the break level at 14 points a piece. NZ were the first to land a blow with darting run from Woodman-Wickliffe to match a sprinting hare. Australia fought hard, pushing NZ back but were unable to get over the line and equalize. Instead NZ bagged one more for the road, taking them to the final.
Fifth-place play-off
Canada 15 – 19 Fiji
The Fijians were out to dethrone the Canadians from their fifth-seeded position. The first half ebbed and flowed until the final minutes where Kristi Scurfield would win a foot race to score the first points for her team. The Fijians then took advantage of a gap that opened up in the midfield to get their first try of the match and draw ahead as two points separated the teams at half-time. Fiji would continue to flex their muscle shrugging off the Canadian defense to score two more tries that’s enough to get them home. Canada do well to catch-up on the try count but their conversion rate would be the difference that gets Fiji into the Cup final.
Seventh-place play-off
Japan 12 – 5 Ireland
A tightly-contested first half kept both sets of fans on their toes. Ireland drew first blood three minutes into the match, but neither side was able to wrangle the other and show clear dominance. Japan got themselves back on level terms moments before the hooter, reiterating the evenly matched contest. After holding each other off for much of the second half, Japan broke through the Irish defence with a lovely-worked team try that put them ahead with seconds to play. They came from behind to come out on top in a spirited performance.
Ninth-place play-off
Brazil 5 – 14 Great Britain
GB pulled ahead after a couple of minutes in the fixture, and slipped pass the Brazilian guard a few minutes later again, doing well to stop Brazil’s attacking maneuvers. The GB side did well to quash any wide runs from Brazil, holding a high line and rushing into contact at the ruck. The second half saw Brazil move it a bit quicker, but the pop passes weren’t enough to sneak through the GB defence. The ladies in yellow enjoyed much of the possession but unfortunately only crossed the GB try line once via the hands of Costa. GB took the game after securing it in the first half.
Eleventh-place play-off
Spain 17 – 14 South Africa
Spain had the perfect start to their Eleventh-place play-off by skipping passed the South African defence in the first minute. They stayed in the driver’s seat for most of the half and ended the same way they started – with an unconverted try. South Africa weren’t able to really threaten the Spanish in the first half, and faced a similar problem in the second. Spain did well to crush their attacking plays and keep them far from the danger areas. After struggling for more than 10 minutes, South Africa mustered their troops to go over the Spanish try line twice and convert both efforts, but fell short by 3 points in the end.
