At the end of the final tournament of the season when the Blues did not shine, South Africa was crowned in men. In the female part, it was the New Zealanders who won.
The city of angels will not have succeeded in the Blues this year. Winners of the local stage last year, then crowned during the final tournament (which then took place in Madrid), the French this time experienced a very different destiny in Los Angeles. Benoît Baby’s men finished fifth in an edition won by South Africa. The Blitzboks left no chance to the Spanish in the final (19-5). While they only displayed the fourth best assessment of the previous six stages, they were able to raise their level at the best time and took advantage of the elimination of the Argentines, favorite growing, in the semi-finals against Spain.
Last place for blue
For Carla Neisen’s teammates, the tournament quickly turned into a nightmare. While they had finished 14th in the previous two stages, the Blue did not advance in the best conditions and this quickly confirmed. After three defeats in the group stage, respectively against the United States, the Fiji then Australia, they failed to save the honor during the last meeting. Beaten 29 to 17 by the Japanese, they finished last in this final stage. On the other hand, the New Zealanders confirmed their status as a best female team of the year. After winning the last three tournaments, they largely dominated that of Los Angeles by making only a bite of the Australians in the final.
