Australia's women completed a perfect end to the SVNS season in Bordeaux on Sunday, beating New Zealand 26-19 in the Grand Final to seal the 2026 World Championship — their second World Championship overall and a second tournament win in as many weeks after their triumph in Valladolid.
It capped a season in which Australia reached every final, and the decider against their oldest rivals followed the familiar script: tight, physical and settled late. Player of the Final Maddison Levi struggled to take it in afterwards.
"Pretty surreal. It hasn't really sunk in," Levi said.
Presented with her award by Black Ferns great Ruby Tui, Levi deflected the credit to teammates who had carried the side through a campaign in which she featured only at the death.
"They've carried the whole way through, so it goes out to the whole team," Levi said. "They helped me out there, and they've helped me get back, so I wouldn't be there without them."
She framed the win as the product of a season-long build rather than a one-off.
"We played our most consistent season. We've been in every single final, so even win or lose in that game, we're building as a program. We're creating depth," Levi said.
The Black Ferns again pushed Australia hard before fading in the second half, and Levi was wary of writing off a rivalry that defines the women's game.
"It's always hard when we play them. They're a pretty good team. They're tough to play against, and they fight to the end," she said.
On the men's side, the World Championship went to South Africa, who became back-to-back champions despite missing the Bordeaux podium. The Blitzboks sealed the title on Saturday with a 14-12 quarter-final win over Fiji, helped by Argentina's early exit, adding the championship to their season-long Series crown for a rare double. They then lost 21-12 to France in the semi-finals and went down in the bronze-medal match to Spain.
Coach Philip Snyman, a former Blitzbok captain, said the achievement reflected the depth of the South African system rather than any single result.
"I am so very, very proud of this team, and to win both the World Series and the World Championship is a special feat indeed," Snyman said. He singled out an earlier milestone as the campaign's high point: "The fact that we won the Hong Kong tournament for the first time ever was probably the highlight of the World Championship."
The Bordeaux men's title instead went to hosts France, who beat New Zealand in front of a raucous home crowd. Player of the Final Célian Pouzelgues, who took a yellow card before scoring the winning try, captured the mood.
"It's amazing. To be going home, it's incredible," Pouzelgues said. "We work hard every time, every tournament, and tonight it's an amazing game against a big New Zealand team."
Pouzelgues, one of the senior heads in a young French squad, said the win — France's first on home soil — was a marker for a side rebuilding with the 2028 Olympics in mind. "A lot of emotion for the first tournament in France. We win here, so I'm very proud," he said.
