Australia have endured another poor sevens rugby tournament that concluded on Sunday in South Africa with a loss to England in the bowl final.
In an emotional three-day event held at Nelson Mandela Stadium in Port Elizabeth just days after the death of the former South African president, Australia lost pool matches to Fiji and France and beat Scotland to drop out of cup contention.
Shannon Walker crossed for two tries in the bowl decider to give Australia a 14-7 half-time lead, but England finished the strongest to prevail 28-19.
Just a week after a below-par display in the second round of the IRB series in Dubai - that included a narrow bowl final win over Portugal - Australia have slipped to fifth on the series standings after a promising start.
On the Gold Coast in the opening round in October, Australia won through to the cup final before losing to New Zealand.
A passionate South Africa delighted their home crowd on Sunday with a 17-14 victory over the Kiwis in the decider.
The series moves to Las Vegas at the end of January where Australia have been drawn in the same pool as New Zealand, Fiji and Scotland.
