Black Ferns Win Fourth Title in a row to Clutch HSBC SVNS Crown

2026-03-16 - 01:57

New Zealand’s all-conquering women’s side claimed a fifth HSBC SVNS Series title in six main Series tournaments this season in New York after edging out Australia 22-21 in an extraordinary final. The Black Ferns were already crowned overall series winners on Saturday but their eyes were firmly fixed on a seventh all-time title in the USA. And they claimed it with a hugely dramatic final win over fierce rivals Australia to clinch their fifth tournament win of the season and underline their status as the best team in the sport. New Zealand topped Pool A on Saturday with three straight wins over France, Fiji and Great Britain before beating USA in Sunday’s semi-final. Australia, who topped Pool B, beat Fiji in the semi-final to secure their final spot fought bravely throughout and scored through Maddison Levi and Teagan Levi (two) against the Black Ferns. New Zealand, once again, though, showed their champion pedigree to win it with tries from Kelsey Teneti (two), Alena Saili and Katelyn Vahaakolo. Player of the Final Teneti said: “It was a full fight and it didn’t take one person [to win it] – it took the whole team. “Words can’t even describe the feeling and I couldn’t be more grateful to be a part of this amazing team.” After yet another final win, captain Risi Pouri-Lane said: “It was about heart because finals footie can go either way, so we had to grind it out. “But the belief in every single one of us was huge and we spoke about doing the simple things well. “Those Aussie girls are so talented and we knew what we had to do to try and shut them down.”