A potentially serious knee injury to Madison Ashby has added further pain for the Australians after their 31-21 defeat to New Zealand in the Singapore Final.
Ashby stepped up as captain with no Charlotte Caslick or Sharni Smale, guiding the Australians to the gold medal match against their arch-rivals.
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With both teams tied on top of the world series ladder, it set up the blockbuster match to decide the SVNS League Winners before next month's Grand Final in Madrid.
The emotion of the occasion was clear for the New Zealanders in the anthem and it carried into the opening minute when Michaela Blyde lit up the Final with a blistering run for her 50th try this year on the World Series.
Maddison Levi was quick to answer her rival, taking the ball from the ruck and racing 80 metres to level the scores. Bella Nasser then got the Aussies in front with a quick tap, beating the tackle of Jorja Miller and riding the contact to get over the line.
Blyde’s second reduced the margin to two at the break, with the Aussies surviving a scare before half-time to maintain their lead when a loose bat back found Kiwi hands.
However, disaster struck when captain Ashby went down injured as play returned.
Ashby was backing up a break from Nasser and went down in agony clutching her knee as she tackled Miller.
She was taken from the field in major pain, with Blyde exploiting the numbers in defence to complete the hat trick.
From here, the Kiwis raced away with the win with Portia Woodman-Wickliffe and Stacey Wakka scoring to seal the game.
Levi’s second was in vain as the Kiwis claimed the League title, with the Aussies sweating on the fitness of Ashby after the Final.
Ashby joins Sariah Paki and Lily Dick as casualties from Singapore, with the pair not suiting up on the final day.
