Black Ferns 7s primed for 'battle' with Australia in HK final

World Series leaders New Zealand are on the cusp of an historic first in Hong Kong, but their arch rivals Australia stand in their way.

International sevens has retuned to Hong Kong for an historic weekend, with the Women’s World Series making a stop at the spiritual home of the sport for the first time ever.

France recorded a convincing win over Japan in the opening game on Friday, before heavyweights the Black Ferns and Australia graced the sacred turf throughout the morning.

This event will forever be remembered by rugby fans as a momentous occasion for the sport, but more history will be made on Sunday night.

The first Hong Kong Sevens champion in the history of the Women’s World Series will be crowned – and two fierce rivals are gunning for the title.

The Black Ferns Sevens have charged into the big dance on the back of some convincing victories, but will need to be at their best later on tonight.

New Zealand will take on reigning World Series champions Australia in the final – a team who will be eager to end the Black Ferns’ run of four-straight Cup final titles this season.

“To be able to make the big dance is pretty cool, against Aussie it’s always a good battle and I know it’s going to be a good showdown for this crowd,” Nathan-Wong told RugbyPass.

“We go out there, put our best foot forward, and the end goal is winning but there’s a lot of things we have to do before that.

“Trans-Tasman rivalry is always big, no matter what sport it is.

“We’ve made most of the finals against Australia in the last few World Series so it’s going to be good.

“They’ve got good skills, highly skilled players, really fit, and we know it’s going to be a knuckleduster out there.

“Everyone’s going to be coming in, slamming into each other, trying to win those rucks, it’s all on.”

The Black Ferns Sevens stated their campaign in Hong Kong with big wins over Hong Kong China and Great Britain – finishing day one with 93 points to their name, and they didn’t concede any.

New Zealand finished off pool play with a 46-nil thumping of Canada, and beat them again in their women’s quarter-final clash.

After beating Fiji 31-5 on Sunday afternoon, the Black Ferns Sevens charged into yet another final on this season’s circuit.

“It’s pretty special, we’ve heard such great things about Hong Kong and the sevens and pretty much how it’s the home of sevens,” she added.

“This crowd has been wicked day in, day out. The fans, when we walk off the field, there’s the joy and excitement form them.

“We’ll recover now though, watch that game back, do a bit of analysis, and come out ready to fire.

“This crowd I know is going to pump us up, it’s gonna be a good vibe, they’re going to be cheering for every single person out there.

“I can’t wait to feed off that vibe and go out there and put my best foot forward.”

The final between rivals New Zealand and Australia is set to get underway at about 12:40am NZT.