Australia and New Zealand rivalry takes season-first twist in Valladolid

Australia and New Zealand contested every Women’s Cup Final heading into the SVNS World Championship stop in Valladolid, but that streak has come to an end. These rivals will instead meet in the semi-finals at Estadio Jose Zorilla, as they chase valuable competition points.

New Zealand dominated the regular season with five Cup Final wins and carried that form into the World Championship Series. Australia’s sole title triumph of the 2025/26 campaign was at SVNS Cape Town in December, running away with a big score at DHL Stadium.

The powerhouse sides will renew their rivalry on Sunday in northwestern Spain, after the USA produced one of the upsets of the season. The USA prevailed 14-10 over the Aussies earlier on day two, claiming top spot in Pool B.

Kaylen Thomas and Sariah Ibarra were the two try-scorers for the USA, who had a nine-point lead with less than three minutes remaining. But a late try by Teagan Levi reduced the deficit, making it a one-score game with plenty of time still on the clock.

The accurate goal-kicking boot of Ibarra was one of the differences in the end, with Australia co-captain Isabella Nasser noting they gave the victors too much ball. An error off the lineout with time almost up brought an end to any hope of a comeback.

“USA are a really quality side. We always have really good matchups against them and it probably just came down to our ill-discipline around holding onto the ball and respecting the ball,” Nasser told RugbyPass in Valladolid.

“We gave USA a bit too much possession and then they got up on us. We flipped the page and went out against France pretty strong but again, we can really focus on respecting that ball a bit more.”

Australia will take on their neighbouring rivals on day three, with New Zealand soaring through pool play with a 3-0 record. The Black Ferns Sevens defeated a previously unbeaten Japan side in their first match on Saturday, before getting the job done 33-7 against hosts Spain in the quarters.

New Zealand and Australia have played out some epics this season, with the thrilling SVNS New York Cup Final standing out. Kelsey Teneti and Katelyn Vahaakolo played their part in an all-time comeback, with captain Risi Pouri-Lane knocking over the match-winning conversion.

“It’s going to be a really exciting game,” Nasser explained.

“It’ll be a semi-final rather than a Grand Final so it’ll be a battle of who’s getting into that Cup.

“Like US, we always have really tough matchups with New Zealand. We’ve gone really, really close against them in Hong Kong [China] and New York so we’ve got plenty of takeaways from those games.

“We’re ready to put some things into practice tomorrow.”

Australia Sevens announced after the defeat to the USA that Maddison Levi had suffered an injury and would take no further part in SVNS Valladolid. Levi scored seven tries in three matches before sustaining the injury and will now undergo scans.

The 24-year-old stands on the cusp of history as one of the most prolific try-scorers in the history of the SVNS Series. Black Ferns Sevens great Michaela Brake holds the all-time record, but Levi is less than 20 tries behind – averaging 8.1 five-pointers per tournament.

“She got a side knee injury in the USA game, just a minor one so she’ll do everything she can to be at her best.

“Mads is an incredible athlete, incredible human, so she’s still very much in and around the girls and still playing her role.”

Rival matchups are the key takeaway from the SVNS Valladolid semi-final draw, with Canada facing the USA for a spot in the big dance. The Canadians powered past Japan 40-5 on Saturday, with six try-scorers making their mark.

SVNS Valladolid

Women’s quarter-final results

Australia 21-7 France

New Zealand 33-7 Spain

Canada 40-5 Japan

USA 33-12 Fiji

Semi-finals

Australia vs New Zealand at 10:00 am (local time) on Sunday

Canada vs USA at 10:22 am (local time) on Sunday