New Zealand were down 21-12 at the halftime break in the women’s final, with Jorja Miller and Risi Pouri-Lane scoring tries, but a brilliant comeback featuring tries from Theresa Setefano and Manaia Nuku took them to a three-point lead with two minutes to go.
However, their attempt to seal the victory went awry, with Maddison Levi snatching an intercept for Australia and racing about 80m to put Australia back in front.
The Black Ferns Sevens threw everything in the dying minutes but conceded a late breakdown penalty and Australia started celebrating as they booted the ball into touch.
The New Zealanders had beaten Ireland 33-12 in the quarterfinals and France 28-14 in the semifinals.
Fiji won the men’s final, proving too strong for Spain, 19-5.
It was the Spaniards who knocked the All Blacks Sevens out of the final, with a 19-14 victory in the semis, after earlier beating them in pool play.
The New Zealanders were then outplayed by Argentina 14-0 in the playoff for third, leaving them fourth on the standings after the opening round of the series.
