A seventh straight Dubai title is very much on the cards for Australia, as they won all three of the Pool B games to set-up a second-day semi-final against Fiji.<\/p>\n
Try-machine Maddison Levi ran in five tries in those three matches, one more than her side conceded all day, as the ruthless new-look HSBC SVNS series kicked off under the hot desert sun<\/p>\n
READ ALSO How the revamped global sevens rugby season format works<\/a><\/p>\n Meanwhile, new-look New Zealand \u2014 without stalwarts Sarah Hirini or Michaela Brake in their ranks \u2014 will face surprise semi-finalists Japan in the last four, despite a mid-Pool A scare when they lost to USA.<\/p>\n POOL A: New Zealand brush off USA slip to claim semi-final slot<\/p>\n Jorja Miller kickstarted the Dubai scoresheet just 15 seconds into the opening match against France, taking advantage of some lacklustre defending to score from a tap penalty to score the first of a personal brace as New Zealand kicked off their Dubai challenge with a 24-21 win over an inexperienced France side.<\/p>\n It was a relatively straightforward victory for the Black Ferns\u2019 Sevens, but Les Bleues\u2019 fleet-footed 18-year-old Mariama Tandiang showed signs of future stardom, scoring two tries on her sevens debut.<\/p>\n A double for Lavena Cavuru and a late score for debutant Atelaite Ralivanawa helped Fiji to a 19-7 victory over Olympic bronze medalists USA.<\/p>\n READ ALSO New look, same spirit: HSBC SVNS is back<\/a><\/p>\n Reapi Ulunisau\u2019s first-half hat-trick then shot Fiji to an early lead in their second game against France. But they had to hang on, as France roared back from 28-0 down to get to 28-19 with a minute left on the clock. But Les Bleues were unable to crack Fiji\u2019s defence again.<\/p>\n Having lost their opening game, USA needed to win second time out against New Zealand, a team they hadn\u2019t beaten in their last 14 attempts, to keep their semi-final hopes alive. Erica Coulibaly\u2019s try in the dying seconds handed them a hard-fought 21-17 victory at the end of a momentum-shifting match, their first win over the Black Ferns Sevens since the Dubai tournament in 2019.<\/p>\n Ariana Ramsey\u2019s brace helped make it two from three and keep USA\u2019s semi-final hopes alive as they beat France 27-14 to hold second place with one match to play.<\/p>\n USA\u2019s victory over France heaped the pressure on New Zealand, who hadn\u2019t lost back-to-back pool matches on the SVNS circuit for more than a decade, as they faced early Pool A pace-setters Fiji. Two more for Miller set them on their way to a decisive 31-12 win to finish top of the pool, above Fiji, then USA, with France propping up the table.<\/p>\n POOL B: Japan claim last-four place with surprise win over Canada<\/p>\n Maddison Levi \u2014 who else? \u2014 scored twice as Australia extended their winning run over Japan to 18 matches, as they kicked off their bid for a sixth successive Dubai title with a straightforward 31-7 victory in their tournament debut in the desert. Sister Teagan, so often the provider, had opened the scoring, while Faith Nathan and captain Isabella Nasser also touched down.<\/p>\n