Americas Rugby News Rugby news from across the Americas!
Canada took the battle in Clermont-Ferrand on Sunday, but Australia has won the war, having been officially crowned champions of the 2015/16 HSBC Women’s Sevens Series. Their Cup final appearance was more than enough to maintain their overwhelming lead over runners-up New Zealand, over whom they enjoyed a 12-point lead heading into the start of the tournament on Saturday.
The win is an historic first both for Australia and the Series itself. It marks the first time a team other than New Zealand has won the overall series title, with Australia’s previous best a 2nd place finish in the tightly contested 2013/14 season. Despite falling to Canada in France, Australia remain firm favorites to win the gold at the Rio Olympics, though the claims of New Zealand, Canada, and England are also strong.
Canada finished the year as the top Americas side once again, finishing in 3rd place with overall scoring differential just nudging them ahead of England. The two sides were level on 74 points at Series close, with Canada’s 31-10 Cup semi-final win in Clermont proving the difference. This marks the third time Canada have finished 3rd, with the only exception being their no2 ranking during the 2014/15 season.
The USA end up in 6th place overall, one spot lower than last season and two below their best ever 4th place finish in the inaugural 2012/13 season. Brazil are in 10th spot for the third time in four years. They tied Fiji for 9th overall in 2013/14. Colombia bring up the tail end of the rankings in 14th spot after making their HSBC Series debut in Atlanta.
