New Zealand have completed a clean sweep of the trans-Tasman Finals against Australia in the season-opening SVNS World Series event in Dubai.
It ends a five-year winning streak in the desert for the Women, who were outclassed 29-14, with the Men's side going down 26-22 despite a desperate comeback.
Watch every match of the SVNS World Series live and on-demand, exclusively on Stan Sport.
In the Women's event, the Kiwis ended Australia’s winning streak in the UAE thanks to relentless pressure from the opening whistle.
They forced several mistakes as the class of the Paris gold medalists shone through, starting through Stacey Wakka in the corner.
Kelsey Teneti extended the lead thanks to a nice in-and-out before Jorja Miller showed why she is the reigning Player of the Year.
She darted through the defence right at half-time, giving New Zealand a 17-0 lead at the break.
The Aussies couldn’t find rhythm in the game, with their attack stifled by a black wave of defence. It was summed up early in the second half when Risi Pouri-Lane picked up the loose ball and ran away for another Kiwi try.
Replacement Heidi Dennis provided impact for the Aussies, scoring twice in the Final to give the defending champions some spark.
But it was not enough to stop the defending SVNS champions as Miller scored her second right before the full-time whistle.
As for the Men, they reversed the fortunes of their group stage matches 24 hours earlier when Maurice Longbottom dived over for the opener.
However, it came at a cost, with the veteran playmaker forced off the field due to injury.
New Zealand hit straight back when a fortuitous bounce landed in Dylan Collier’s lap for the response, extending their lead shortly afterwards via Tone Ng Shiu.
Aden Ekanayake was bundled into touch right before half-time, before a massive moment in the game saw an Australian break blown up to check high contact, ending a clear scoring opportunity.
The play was cleared, with the Aussies unable to press their claims for the levelling try on account of it happening after the half-time siren.
When the match resumed for the second half, Sione Molia capitalised on an Australian mistake for a 19-5 advantage.
Will Cartwright sparked the Aussie comeback with a nice step and dive for the corner as Harry Wilson scored straight afterwards from the kick-off to reduce the lead to four.
However, it was all in vain as Kiwi young gun Jayden Keelan sprinted away for the sealer.
Wilson scored his second after the siren to reduce the margin, but it was all New Zealand in the UAE, making it two from two to start the season.
