Jakiya Whitfeld wins Canadian sevens and World Rugby Women's Sevens Series with Australia

Up against rivals New Zealand in the final of the Canadian round, Whitfeld started the match as one of five substitutions, making her way onto the field in the 11^th minute when Australia was down 17-14.

It was on she was on the field that her teammate Lily Dick scored the match-winning try in the 16^th minute, the Pearls ultimately winning the match 21-17.

Not only did the win in the final at Langford secure the win in the Canada Women's Sevens, but sealed Australia's victory in the World Series with a round to spare.

READ MORE:

Speaking after the win in the final, Australia co-captain Charlotte Caslick said it was amazing to claim victory against a New Zealand team playing its first round of the World Series.

"It's amazing to have New Zealand back on the Series; we've been looking forward to playing them for such a long time.

"It was an incredible effort from our girls; we started the game well and obviously continued that through to the finish, which I'm incredibly proud of.

"It would have been bittersweet if we came away with the World Series but not a tournament win, so we'll definitely take time to celebrate that result with the team tonight."

The Australians got off to the perfect start as Madison Levi once again opened the scoring with a trademark fend as the young gun sprinted away.

The Tokyo gold medalists refused to give up, with tries to Alena Saili and Sarah Hirini giving them a 10-7 lead at the break.

Needing a response, it was the experienced duo of the squad who stepped up as Sharni Williams broke into space, finding Charlotte Caslick under the posts with a great offload.

It all looked to be vain when the legendary Michaela Blyde broke through several defenders to dive over, giving the Kiwis a 17-14 lead.

With just three seconds remaining, a valiant effort over the ball by Levi started the comeback, rewarded with the penalty on their own goal-line.

Caslick opened the game up with a break from her own half, however, was shut down by a great tackle from Tyla Nathan-Wong.

With time expired, Caslick's looping ball found Dom Du Toit, breaking free to offload to Dick as the replacement powered through tacklers to score under the posts and secure a remarkable victory.

The World Series win was Australia's third on record since the competition commenced in 2012-13.

The final round of the 2021-22 World Rugby Women's Sevens Series will be held in Toulouse, France on May 20-22.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content: