New Zealand have lost both World Cup sevens crowns, with their men and women falling at the last hurdles at Cape Town.
Aiming for their third straight title, the Black Ferns Sevens fought back to score a try in the dying seconds of their final against archrivals Australia, needing to slot the conversion to force extra time, but Tenika Willison could not find the posts from a tricky angle, sparking celebrations among the Aussies.
Moments later, the All Blacks Sevens conceded two early tries that put them on the backfoot against Fiji and could not take advantage of a spate of yellow cards in the second half, falling 29-12 to the Olympic champions.
The NZ women had reached the final with a comprehensive 38-7 victory over France in the semis, with speedsters Michaela Blyde and Shiray Kaka grabbing a brace of tries each, but in the title game, Blyde was unable to find any space to operate.
New Zealand were off to a quick start against the Aussies, with Kelly Brazier scoring the opening try. An early double from Maddison Levi had their rivals 12-5 ahead, before Stacey Fluhler closed the deficit to two points at halftime.
Significantly, Risi Pouri-Lane, who had kicked well throughout the weekend, could convert neither try.
When Niall Williams was yellow-carded and sent to the sidelines for two minutes, Australia took full toll, with Faith Nathan touching down and Levi securing her hat-trick against the shorthanded defence.
Trailling 24-10, but restored to full quote, the NZ women struck back, with Kaka's try - converted by Pouri-Lane - bringing them within a converted try of overtime. With no time left on the clock, Alena Saili duly obliged, scoring just to the right of the uprights.
The pressure fell on Willison, who had only just entered the game for Pouri-Lane, but her dropkick drifted wide left, as she slumped to her knees in despair and Australia emerged 24-22 winners.
In the men's final, tries from Joseva Talacolo and Kaminieli Rasaku put the Fijians on top 12-0 early. Moses Leo put the Kiwis on the scoreboard, but two more tries had the Pacific Islanders 24-5 ahead at halftime.
Akuila Rokolisoa struck first after the restart and Fiji lost Talacolo to a yellow card for his high tackle on the tryscorer. No sooner had he returns to the field, Sevuloni Mocenacagi was seated in his place, reducing their team to six men for another two minutes.
But New Zealand could not add to their score, despite their numerical advantage, and Pilipo Bukayaro put the seal on a comprehensive Fijian victory with another try at the death.
"We just didn't take our opportunities," said captain Sione Molia. "We laid the platform, but we just didn't execute it.
"It's always tough against Fiji, especially when they get that amount of points against us - it really lifts their confidence. For us, it was about trying to regather our thoughts and soak it all in and come back.
"We did that, but time got the best of us."
Australia 24 (M Levi 3 & Nathan tries; Williams 2 conversions) Black Ferns Sevens 22 (Brazier, Fluhler, Kaka & Saili tries; Pouri-Lane conversion) - Final
Black Ferns Sevens 38 (Blyde 2, Kaka 2, Hirini, Felix-Hotham tries; Pouri-Lane 3 conversions, Willison conversion) France 7 (Grisez try; Ulutule conversion) - Semi-final
Fiji 29 (Talacolo, Rasaku, Canakaivata, Sauturaga & Bukayaro tries; Sauturaga & Nacuqu conversions) All Blacks Sevens 12 (Leo & Rokolisoa tries; McGarvey-Black conversion) - Final
All Blacks Sevens 17 (McGarvey-Black 3 tries; Baker conversion) Ireland 10 (Kelly & Smith tries) - Semi-final
