Two losses, then the last word: the Black Ferns Sevens beat Australia 21-12 at Accor Stadium

The Black Ferns Sevens finished their Sydney trip the way they wanted to. After losing both Friday night games to Australia at the Kick On Sevens, they beat them 21-12 at Accor Stadium on Saturday 17 October, in front of more than 70,000 people who had come for the Bledisloe Cup. Australia took the three-game series 2-1, but the last word was New Zealand's.

These were uncapped pre-season matches, the start of the build-up to the HSBC SVNS season, which opens in Dubai on 28 and 29 November.

Friday night at Woollahra Oval: two Australian wins

The first game went to the last minute. Jorja Miller, the two-time World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year, was involved in three New Zealand tries, and the Black Ferns Sevens levelled late, before Kaitlin Shave scored the winner for Australia in the final minute for 24-19. Maddison Levi scored twice and Mackenzie Davis once.

The second game belonged to Levi, who scored a first-half hat-trick, the first of the three seconds after kick-off. Australia took advantage of a New Zealand yellow card to score twice while a player short, and won 36-26.

Saturday at Accor Stadium: New Zealand's answer

On the big stage, the Black Ferns Sevens were sharper. Jorja Miller opened the scoring early, and Jazmin Felix-Hotham scored near the posts before half-time, both converted, for a two-try lead at the break. In the second half Felix-Hotham and centre Kelsey Teneti combined to put Renee Holmes away for her first try in the sevens jersey, a fitting moment for a player who crossed from fifteens with 33 Tests and a World Cup winner's medal. Levi scored two late tries for Australia, but New Zealand won 21-12. The first international sevens match ever played before an All Blacks Test ended in a New Zealand win.

Levi finished the series with seven tries. Australia captain Isabella Nasser was gracious about the finale: "New Zealand are always going to put up a fight."

The newcomers

Five players wore the Black Ferns Sevens jersey for the first time in Sydney: Holmes, 19-year-old Te Pumanawa o Toku Ate Rogers from Rotorua, Hurricanes Poua loose forward Keelah Bodle, New Zealand Under-21 back Sariyah Paitai, and Kavanah Lene, the former college basketballer. The match reports did not detail their individual contributions beyond Holmes's try. Captain Risi Pouri-Lane led the 13-player squad coached by Cory Sweeney, who had called the trip "an opportunity to showcase the game of Sevens on one of rugby's biggest stages".

The men: Australia and Fiji share it

In the men's series, Fiji won the first game 10-0 and Australia the second 24-14, with Brandon Roberts-Lintmeijer scoring twice. The decider at Accor finished 19-19: Australia came from 12-5 down at half-time through Tylan Berryman and a late runaway try from Maurice Longbottom, before Iowane Teba levelled for Fiji with about five seconds left. Fiji coach Osea Kolinisau said decision-making "determines the outcome of the game".

What comes next

The world series starts in Dubai on 28 and 29 November, then Cape Town the following weekend. The Black Ferns Sevens won the League title last season, five of six regular-season finals against Australia, before Australia took the World Championship. Saturday in Sydney suggested the rivalry has lost none of its edge.