The New Zealand rugby sevens teams have given their Australian counterparts a brutal welcome to New Zealand with star Michaela Blyde setting the tempo early in Auckland this morning.
Both the men and women started the three-day trans-Tasman series with wins this morning, with the Black Ferns Sevens coming out on top 19-0 before the All Blacks Sevens took a 14-5 win.
It may have been over a year since there's been any international sevens action but two-time World Rugby women's sevens player of the year Blyde showed no sign of rust, with a large role in the first win.
It took Blyde under a minute to display her skills on both defence and offence, with a bone-crunching tackle forcing a turnover seconds after kick-off that she eventually converted into a try in the left corner.
Blyde scored a second try at the Grammar TEC club grounds in the first half to give her side a 12-0 lead at the break.
Ruby Tui then sealed the comfortable win in the second half with a slicing run through the Australian defence.
In the men's match, it wasn't until the halftime hooter had gone was the intense 0-0 deadlock broken by the Kiwi men, with Scott Curry and Dylan Collier combining for a long-range effort.
After the break, another crunching hit — this time from Tim Mikkelson — forced a turnover that Amanaki Nicole scooped up for a runaway try, effectively sealing the result.
The Aussies claimed a consolation try in the final minutes but it wasn't enough to pull of an upset.
The four teams returned to the field this afternoon with the Australian women getting some revenge with a 19-15 win while the All Blacks Sevens made it two-from-two with a 26-21 victory.
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