Black Ferns Sevens wallop France to advance to final in Vancouver

The Black Ferns Sevens’ dreams of securing a fourth straight world series title remain intact after a 36-7 win against France in the semifinal in Vancouver on Monday morning (NZT).

The New Zealanders will meet Australia, who produced a sublime defensive effort and were extremely efficient with the ball when they thumped the United States 38-0 in their semi, in the final at 2.56pm.

Victory against the Aussies will ensure the Black Ferns add the crowns they collected in the previous tournaments in Sydney, Hamilton and Cape Town.

The Black Ferns immediately warned the French of how dangerous they could be when offered space, even from the deep, when Stacey Waaka saw a gap near her own 22m, produced a double-step and then flicked on the afterburners for a long-range try in the opening minutes.

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Waaka, again, was involved in the action quickly after the restart when she flicked a lovely inside pass to skipper Sarah Hirini, as an additional five-pointer was added to the New Zealanders’ account.

France just couldn’t find a way through the black picket line on attack, and, to their frustration, when they attempted to attack inside their own half late in the first spell they turned over the ball and Tyler Nathan-Wong grabbed the Black Ferns’ third try to put them ahead 17-0 at halftime.

After the restart it was Michaela Blyde who grabbed the opportunity to add to France’s misery, the speed machine launching into a spectacular run from near her own line. France replied with a try soon after, but when Waaka scored her second five-pointer with less then two minutes on the clock it was clear the New Zealanders were advancing to another final.

Jazmin Felix-Hotham added the cherry to the cake by scoring in the dying moments.

This was the second time in the Black Ferns had beaten the French in a pressure-cooker match in the last two tournaments, having rolled them 35-0 in the final in Sydney on January 29.

On Sunday, the Black Ferns Sevens scraped their way into the last four of the tournament after holding on for a thrilling 10-5 quarterfinal win over hosts Canada.

After a sublime opening day on Saturday where they crushed newcomers Colombia 60-0 and thrashed Great Britain 43-7, the series-leading New Zealand women had carried that into day two with a comfortable 24-7 win over Fiji in their final pool game.

The All Blacks Sevens, meanwhile, are no chance of winning a title after losing their quarterfinal to Australia on Sunday.

The men beat Great Britain 19-7 on Monday morning to advance to the fifth place playoff spot later in the day.