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Celtic Challenge 2025/26 Round 10: Irish and Welsh teams remain for semi-finals
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Black Ferns Sevens lock down USA in tight affair to clinch final berth
By Henry Lee
Cory Sweeney’s Black Ferns Sevens side has booked their ticket to the final of the Vancouver SVNS Series circuit, with a close victory over the USA.
The Black Ferns Sevens had won eleven straight semi-final games, extending that streak to twelve on Tuesday morning, where they beat the USA, 19-12, at BC Place.
Just under 24 hours since she scored her 100th HSBC SVNS Series career try, Black Ferns Sevens star Jorja Miller got proceedings underway with a simple try down the right-hand touchline.
Kelsey Teneti broke the line on the opposite edge, before they spread it wide through the hands, reaching Stacey Waaka on the wing before she shifted to Miller, who had the easy job of putting the ball down.
The conversion was unsuccessful, but it was an ideal start during the first half of the cup semi-final against the USA.
The underdogs in the encounter then hit back shortly after the restart, with Kaylen Thomas breaking Teneti’s tackle just inside their own half, storming away to score under the posts.
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Conversion was successful, giving the USA a 7-5 lead with only one minute to go until the second half.
The Kiwis couldn’t claim the restart, taking the game to halftime at BC Place in Vancouver, with the USA leading 7-5 as they look to beat the Black Ferns Sevens for the third time this season.
Just as they did on Day One, the Black Ferns Sevens burst out of the blocks in the second-half, starting with Miller, who was in the thick of the action once again.
She got her hands on the ball in midfield, jinking and jiving her way past a couple of defenders, before putting a deadly left-foot step on the last two defenders to sprint away and take the lead for Sweeney’s side.
It was Miller’s 26th of the 2026 season, and one that will go down as an important one if her side is to go on to win another SVNS circuit in Vancouver.
Jaymie Kolose looked like she was going to pounce on a loose pass by the USA, but she knocked the ball on ten meters short of the line, leaving a certain try out there in the semi-final.
The star of the show, Miller, then bullied her way over the line from a quick-tap, but was held up just over the line with just over two minutes to play.
The USA were then penalised at scrumtime, which gave Mahina Paul the opportunity to take another quick-tap. She did just that, planting the ball down under the posts to put the game without reach for USA.
Sarah Levy hit back for the USA in the closing stages, but it wasn’t enough as the Black Ferns Sevens side, who are still unbeaten in the tournament, booked their place in the Vancouver final.
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