In one of the most thrilling finishes to a women series final, Australia claimed round five of this year’s series in London, beating Canada with a last-gasp try in Twickenham.Despite Canada leading 17-5 with just minutes left, Australia battled back to score three times and snatch the win from the Canadians, who, despite being in the top four in the standings, have never won a World Rugby women’s series cup final.Speaking after the final whistle, Australian captain Sharni Williams said: “We definitely had to play our best footy out there. I think everyone dug deep and the fresh legs that came on really impacted. I’m just delighted for the girls.”
The weekend’s results mean New Zealand are still in pole position going into the final round in Amsterdam, Australia return to second place and Canada slip down to third. The fourth position has seen USA move into the Olympic qualification spot at the expense of France, meaning it’s all to play for in the Netherlands.
Elsewhere, New Zealand, who yesterday lost their first match after going unbeaten for 37 matches, defeated USA in the third place playoff, 24-19. Earlier at The Stoop, the Plate final was won by England who beat France and Fiji claimed the Bowl final with a win over China.
The action now moves to the Netherlands next Friday where the series will finish up in Amsterdam. The 2014-15 champions will be crowned on Saturday and the remaining three Olympic places will also be confirmed.
Like all other rounds in the series, all matches will be streamed on worldrugby.org and fans can find out more about where they can watch the action by clicking here .
