Watch: Jorja Miller wins SVNS thriller with late moment of brilliance

Jorja Miller produced a moment of brilliance to see the Black Ferns Sevens home 19-12 in a HSBC SVNS Singapore thriller against Canada. Olivia Apps starred as the Canadians levelled the scores late, but Miller’s heroics ensured New Zealand avoided a rare opening day defeat.

New Zealand started their quest for a third consecutive Singapore Sevens title with a stunning 64-0 win against Great Britain earlier on day one. Katelyn Vahaakolo, Mahina Paul and Braxton Sorensen-McGee all scored doubles during the comprehensive triumph.

Canada started their campaign in style as well, with Carissa Norsten flying down the right edge to secure a 29-24 extra-time win over France. Fancy Bermudez, Gabrielle Senft, Alysha Corrigan and Apps gave the team an immediate lift in their return to the world’s premier sevens circuit.

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These big-name stars from the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup in England bolstered a Canada side that is searching for their first semi-final appearance of the season. The Canadians have a 1-1 record at the time of writing, but have been mighty impressive even in defeat.

Apps gave Canada an early lead, with the playmaker diving over for a try in the third minute at the National Stadium. With the Olympian adding the extras, Canada took control with 7-0, but it didn’t take the New Zealanders long to strike back.

Miller stands alone as the RugbyPass Women’s SVNS Series MVP leader after events in Dubai and Cape Town, receiving 14 votes from the four writers. Australia’s Isabella Nasser and Maddison Levi share equal second with 11 votes, and Kelsey Teneti is fourth with five.

The reigning SVNS Series Player of the Year continues to stand out in Singapore, slicing through Canada’s defence to reduce the deficit. Maia Davis converted Miller’s try, bringing the teams level with a couple of minutes until the half.

Neither team managed to add points to their scores, going into the half-time huddle locked at 7-al. Two-time Olympic gold medallist Stacey Waaka broke the deadlock with an effort in the ninth minute, somersaulting in celebration as the New Zealanders took the lead for the first time.

It remained tense right until the final whistle, with something inevitable about the Canadians, who threw everything at their opponents in attack. Apps fended off Jazmin Felix-Hotham to touch down for her second try, making it anyone’s game with less than one minute to play.

Up stepped Miller.

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Miller broke through Canada’s defensive wall yet again, carefully placing the ball down with 16 seconds remaining on the clock. It’s not often Miller is called upon to take conversions, but the try-scorer capped off the result with a successful shot at goal.

“We came in with a gameplan. We’re fixing little things that didn’t quite work in Cape Town,” Waaka said on the SVNS Series broadcast.

“It’s about composure. We kind of went away from that a little bit against Canada so we’re going to go back, reflect, and make sure come France it’s going to be a good game.”