Black Ferns Sevens bundled out in Spain semifinal after rare loss to Australia

Monday, 1 June 2026

The Black Ferns Sevens team blew a 21-7 halftime lead to lose 28-26 to Australia in their semifinal of the world championship round in Valladolid, Spain.

It saw captain Risi Pouri-Lane’s side slip to second behind their trans-Tasman rivals in the overall championship standings, heading into this weekend’s final round in Bordeaux.

A try to Australia’s Kaitlin Shave inside the final minute, which was converted by Tia Hinds, ended the Black Ferns Sevens’ hopes of making yet another decider.

Given the New Zealanders’ blistering start, the Australians did well to retain their composure and keep attacking.

Mahina Paul and Stacey Waaka registered opening tries for the Ferns who profited from their aggression at the breakdown, combined with a willingness to keep searching for space when in possession.

The 14-0 lead was whittled back when Hinds converted her own try for the Australians, before the Black Ferns Sevens attacking ace Jorja Miller scampered away for a runaway five-pointer on the cusp of halftime.

Ahead 21-7 at halftime, the Black Ferns Sevens’ hopes of causing their opponents more pain went out the window when they made a blunder from the kickoff and Heidi Dennis eventually profited when she glided through a chink in the defensive line.

The tit-for-tat routine continued as Pouri-Lane rocketed away for a spectacular try but the celebrations were cut short when Faith Nathan showed a clear pair of heels; the successful conversion reduced the lead to five points and the Black Ferns were under the pump.

The Black Ferns had swept through pool play, adding a 47-14 win over Japan to day one victories against Argentina and Brazil.

They then hammered hosts Spain 33-7 in their quarterfinal, setting up a semifinal against old foes Australia who suffered a surprise loss to the United States in pool play but bounced back to beat France in their quarterfinal.

The Black Ferns beat Canada 50-14 in the playoff for third while Australia comfortably handled the United States 27-14 in the final.

New Zealand had won the last five tournaments since February, beating Australia in the final every time.

Australia won without two of their best players with Maddison Levi and Tia Hinds missing through injury, and take a two-point lead into the season decider in Bordeaux, France.

The New Zealand men, having won their opening day pool fixtures against Uruguay and Germany, suffered a second day to forget, first losing their final pool game 24-0 to Argentina before being wiped 40-0 by Fiji in their quarterfinal.

They beat Spain 22-12 in the playoff for fifth.

Australia swept the Valladolid finals after comeback wins over the No 1-ranked teams, celebrating their first title double since 2018 in Sydney.

The men won their first trophy since November 2022 in Hong Kong when they overcame South Africa 26-19 in a sweltering Estadio Jose Zorrilla. The Blitzboks had a last-gasp try ruled out by a forward pass.

South Africa are still favoured to remain men’s world champions next weekend as they have a four-point lead over Argentina.

Valladolid was the second of three world championship events which follow on from the sevens world series.