The Sevens World Series for both men and women finished this weekend in Paris, with both championships coming down almost to the final game.

South Africa won the men's competition, and Fiji faltered to allow the Blitzbokke to surge into 1st. Fiji has won four straight tournaments, and five out of the last six, but finished 5th in Paris and that was enough for South Africa to take it all.

On the women's side, Australia and New Zealand won all five tournaments between them. New Zealand won three, including Paris, but Australia's more consistent showing made for more points, and just by making the final, the Aussies clinched the title.

The USA teams, meanwhile, had an opportunity to clinch 4th (Women), and 5th (Men), and failed to do either. So 5th for the women and 6th for the men isn't bad at all, but it was frustrating to see higher places slip from the Eagles' grasp.

So with all of that in mind, here are four key turning points in the season, and 

Dubai Decides

The Women's World Series was won and lost in the first tournament, and really in one moment. After beating the USA handily in pool play, the Silver Ferns met the Americans again in the quarterfinals of the Dubai 7s. The Americans won on the final play of the game, propelling the Eagles to a 2nd-place finish, but, more important, forcing New Zealand to play for 5th.

Australia won in Dubai, taking 20 points, and New Zealand took home 12. From there on out New Zealdn won three of the remaining four events, but couldn't quite erase that eight-point deficit. As a result, Australia just needed to make the final in Paris to win the Series.

Kitakyushu Opportunity Wasted

The USA women had a prime chance to move up in the standings in Japan, as Canada had a horrible tournament, losing to England, Russia, and Ireland to finish 11th. But stuck in a tough pool, the Eagles played poorly. Shut out 36-0 by France and beaten 31-12 by New Zealand, two wins over Japan and one over Ireland salvaged a 9th-place finish. 

It all came down to not making the Cup Quarters for the USA. Despite that pelting by France, the Americans had a chance to beat out England for a quarterfinal spot. They just needed to beat Japan by 32 (and were aware of this at the time). With time up they had it in the bag, leading 45-12, but gave up a try after full time, putting England ahead on points difference.

A similar last-second try against France didn't help, either. Had one of those tries been prevented, the USA could have earned at least two, and possibly many more points in the standings and beaten out Canada for 4th.

England Breaks Fijian Hearts In Paris

Tom Mitchell scored with no time left to beat FIji 19-17 in the Cup Quarterfinals in Paris. Had Fiji held on in that game, the island nation would have won the World Series, because evena 4th-place finish would have meant Fiji and South Africa would have tied on points with 182, and Fiji had the tiebreaker (most points scored).

? Bench Reaction: What a moment, @Blitzboks are you HSBC Paris Sevens winners and your HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2018 Champions #Paris7s pic.twitter.com/dGEMPrGN13

— World Rugby Sevens (@WorldRugby7s) June 10, 2018

Dubai, Again

This one was about luck. Perry Baker received a concussion in the opening game of the first tournament, in Dubai. His loss shook up the USA team, which finished last. After that, with Baker and Carlin Isles alternating as try-scoring machines, the Eagles had the fourth-most points. But that was a huge hold to climb out of.

Stats

Canada's Nathan Hirayama has stuck with the team through the good times and the bad, and has enjoyed an excellent season in 2017-18, leading the entire Men's World Series with 334 points. Starting the season as Baker's second in command, Isles led the World Series in tries with 49. Baker was 5th with 37. Rarely did these two share the field at the same time - this one-two punch was easily the best on the circuit.

Fiji's Amenoni Nasilasila led the World Series in tackles with 150, followed by Scott Riddell of Scotland, Eroni Sau of Fiji, and Ben Pinkelman. Fiji's success was in playing long periods of defense and then punishing turnovers. Four of the top six tacklers were Fijian.

Portia Woodland led the Women's World Series with 43 tries and 215 points. Her 43 tries almost matched the total by Isles, but in half as many tournaments. USA's Naya Tapper tied for 3rd with 26. Camille Grassineau won the tackle title with 115 - that's about four per game - compare that to Nasilasila, who averaged about 2.5.

Now Up: The Rugby World Cup Sevens

USA Rugby hosts the Rugby World Cup Sevens at AT&T Park in San Francisco (tickets still available), and maybe now we can look for some favorites.

Despite Australia winning the Women's World Series, New Zealand getting the majority of the tournament wins, including the last three, makes the Silver Ferns the favorite. Australia is a close second, but it is very easy to count out France and Canada, and both could do very well. Can the USA replicate the top-three finish from 2013 and 2009? Right now the team isn't consistent enough.

For the men, South Africa and Olympic Champion Fiji should be at the top of the list. New Zealand, Australia, and the USA have all won tournaments, and Argentina has come close. This is a fairly wide open field (remember 2009 when all the big dogs were eliminated in the quarters leaving Samoa, Argentina, Kenya, and Wales to fight it out). The dark horse could be Ireland given how well the Irish did in London and Paris. And if everyone is healthy, Kenya is a team no one wants to play.