The inaugural HSBC Spain Sevens provided a weekend to remember in Málaga as the USA clinched their first Series title since 2019.
USA’s Jaz Gray and Naya Tapper celebrate with the cup winner trophy (Photo: Martin Seras Lima)
The USA clinched gold by beating an impressive Russia side, who made it to the final despite their squad being reduced to just nine players.
The Russians had earlier produced the shock of the weekend by beating Series leaders Australia in the semi-final, ending their 15-match winning streak.
The gold medal performance was a big improvement for the Women’s Eagles, who finished fifth and seventh in the two previous rounds in Dubai.
Ilona Maher who was one of the USA try scorers in the final said: “I’m so proud of this group, Dubai wasn’t how we wanted to end. We worked so hard, we did exactly what we planned. We have some new people, some returners, and we’ve been working on our culture.”
Reeling from their shock semi-final defeat, Australia bounced back in the bronze final with a commanding 33-7 win over a French side who finished third in the first two Series events of the season in Dubai.
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Canada and Ireland met in the fifth-place playoff after beating Poland and England respectively, and the impressive Irish came out on top 26-5 to claim valuable Series points.
Invitational side Poland’s inspiring run ended with a 22-10 defeat to England in the seventh-place playoff, while hosts Spain clinched ninth by beating Belgium 17-5 and Brazil took 11th, with Fiji unable to travel to Málaga.
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Australia maintain their position on top of the women’s Series standings at the halfway stage with 56 points from the opening three rounds, followed by France and Russia who are tied on 46 points with Malaga title winners the USA in fourth on 40 points.
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The teams now move across Spain to Seville for the fourth round of the Series next weekend where invitational team Portugal will replace Fiji in the women’s event to complete a full 12 team line-up.
The pool allocation based on the finishing positions in Malaga sees the USA face Canada, England and Portugal in Pool A. Beaten finalists Russia are in Pool B along with Ireland, Poland and Brazil.
Series leaders Australia find themselves in Pool C where they will take on Olympic silver medallists France, hosts Spain and invitational team Belgium.
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With thanks to World Rugby
