ANY other year and the Pearls girls would have been letting their hair down.

Australia snapped New Zealand’s three-year dominance of the women’s sevens world series on Sunday and it wasn’t even close — finishing 2015-16 with a whopping 14-point margin.

It was the first time an Australian sevens team, male or female, had won a world series title.

But while there was a weary satisfaction upon the team’s return to Sydney on Wednesday — following a gruelling 33-hour journey back from France — it certainly wasn’t over the top celebration.

The big sevens prize of 2016 remains up for grabs at the Rio Olympics in August.

“Our goals were very clear as a team with what we wanted to achieve and the first box was getting consistency in our performances and winning that world series,” said co-captain Shannon Parry at the ARU’s congratulatory ceremony in St Leonards.

“We ticked that box but it’s a short-lived celebration as Rio is only just around the corner.

“If it was the end of the season for us we’d be celebrating a lot more but it’s not the case with it being a unique year, being the Rio Olympics.

“We’ve only got 66 days till Rio and the next campaign — that’s where we’re charging towards.”

The Pearls will get this weekend off before getting back to business at their Narrabeen base.

Rio selection is a month away and after a few days of relaxation and reflection with friends and family, Parry expected some fierce training sessions starting next week.

The Australian women’s sevens team at ARU headquarters in St Leonards. Source: News Corp Australia

Australia’s women finished third in the world series last season, second in 2013-14 and fifth in 2012-13.

Parry attributed the breakthrough campaign to the ARU’s commitment to centralising the sevens program two seasons ago.

“I was a teacher and the girls were either studying or working fulltime,” Parry said.

“We’ve got Tim Walsh, a great coach, and Scotty Bowen (sevens performance boss) with a lot of experience there as well.

“So they’ve got the best out of each individual and this year is just the product of all that hard work over the past two years.”

A quarterfinal romp over Spain in Clermont last weekend ensured Australia could not be topped on the overall table.

They backed that up with a gutsy defeat of series runners-up New Zealand in the semis before being upset by Canada in the final.

It was a reminder of the fickle nature of sevens — a fast and furious sport where the better team doesn’t necessarily win.

“It was a bit of a reality check for us and a kick up the backside,” Parry said.

“It just shows that we’ve got a lot of things to still work on and we need extra gameplans in our back pocket so that if something does go wrong then you’ve got plan B and plan C as well.

“We were bitterly disappointed to finish the series the way we did but it was hard to get up because we’d just beaten the Kiwis and we’d just won the world series.

Australia’s Shannon Parry scores a try at Gabriel Montpied Stadium in Clermont. Source: AFP

“It was a bit of a rollercoaster of emotions over the weekend — but we’re world series champions.”

New Zealand, Canada and England loom as Australia’s most obvious rivals in Rio but Parry also pointed to Fiji as a potential threat, given their unpredictable, skilful style.

Parry was immense in the Clermont semifinal win over New Zealand, scoring the opening five-pointer and then making a remarkable tackle and turnover on the Australian line which led to the second try.

The 26-year-old forward said the Pearls’ attack — sparked by flyers Ellia Green and Emma Tonegato — was the team’s strength, but there remained plenty of room for improvement in defence.

“A lot of teams try to outmuscle us and that’s something that we’ve got to try and change,” Parry said.

“We’ve been working really hard on that this season, getting our defensive line right and hitting and sticking those tackles.

“It’s a big attitude thing as well — the desire to want to make those tackles.

“It’ll be little things that will either win or lose you a game come Rio time.”

Parry pointed to basketball convert Chloe Dalton as a huge improver in the last two tournaments, with her world class drop goal kicking giving the team another valuable string to its bow.

The recognition of the team’s achievements from the Australian public had been heartwarming.

“It has been special,” Parry said.

“Just seeing so many people on Twitter saying ‘congrats, you represented Australia so well and you’re a great role model for girls coming up.’

“That definitely touches your heart.

“Rugby has traditionally been a male dominated sport but hopefully that’s now starting to change.”