Round 2 HSBC SVNS Series, Cape Town

McGregor to debut as Australians name squads for Cape Town

Wed, Dec 6, 2023, 1:57 PM
Nathan Williamson

Australia Men's coach John Manenti has named teenage James McGregor for his debut at the Cape Town SVNS.

McGregor comes in for Matt Gonzalez, who suffered a rib injury in Dubai as the team finished seventh.

The 19-year-old played for the Australia U18s side last year, joining the Sevens program as a development player.

"Dubai was a tough start and we felt we let ourselves down on a few fronts and didn’t play to our standards," Manenti said in a statement. “Cape Town is a great opportunity for us to show what we stand for and to be better

“As Matt Gonzalez heads home due to an unfortunate injury, we’ve called in young James (Jimmy) McGregor into the squad for a potential debut. Having toured with us to the Stellenbosch Academy and Oceania Sevens tournament, Jimmy has already immersed himself in the squad and is prepared to perform.

“Every pool is tough, and with NZ, Samoa and Canada in ours, we’re looking forward to the challenge.”

Unsurprisingly, Women's coach Tim Walsh has named an unchanged line-up for this weekend after their triumph in Dubai.

The Dubai title was their fifth in a row at the UAE event and their first in 2023.

“The challenge this week is to continue where we finished in Dubai. Day 2 in Dubai was one of the best performances I have seen from this team," Walsh believes.

“We beat the next best three teams in the world in true Australian Women Sevens style. We played ruthlessly and adapted to each opposition accordingly - it was a very polished performance filled with desire and skill.

“We are under no illusion that Cape Town won’t be a challenge, and we are embracing our preparation and immersing ourselves in our work.

“The launch of the new and reinvigorated series has been very well received by the team and we are immensely thankful for the support back home in Australia. The future of this team is bright, and we cannot wait to get stuck into things in Cape Town.”

Australia will face Fiji, Spain, and Japan in Pool A of the women’s draw, with the men set to take on a formidable pool including Samoa, Canada, and defending World Series champions New Zealand in Pool C.

Australia Women’s Sevens team for Cape Town SVNS:

2. Sharni Smale

3. Faith Nathan

4. Dominique Du Toit

5. Teagan Levi

6. Madison Ashby

7. Charlotte Caslick (c)

8. Kaitlin Shave

10. Bella Nasser

11. Demi Hayes

12. Maddison Levi

22. Bienne Terita

55. Alysia Lefau-Fakaosilea

65. Sariah Paki

Australia Men’s Sevens team for Cape Town SVNS:

2. Ben Dowling

3. Henry Palmer

4. Dietrich Roache

5. Tim Clements

7. Josh Turner

8. Dally Bird

10. Nick Malouf (c)

11. Maurice Longbottom

12. Nathan Lawson

13. Ben Dalton

14. James Turner

15. James McGregor*

25. Hayden Sargeant

*Denotes potential debut.

Australian Sevens Dubai 2023 Schedule
*All times AEDT (I'll change to WST if I get the time and inclination...)

Women
Saturday, December 9

Australia Women v Spain Women, 6:22 pm

Australia Women v Japan Women, 8:44 pm

Sunday, December 10

Australia Women v Fiji Women, 1:00 am

Men
Saturday, December 9

Australia Men v Samoa Men, 7:06 pm

Australia Men v New Zealand Men, 9:50 pm

Sunday, December 10

Australia Men v Canada Men, 2:28 am

Every round of the HSBC SVNS series will be shown exclusive, ad-free, live and on demand on Stan Sport.

Another fantastic weekend for the Women's 7's, taking all before them to get back to back titles and heading to Perth on a roll!
The Men's were a vastly improved combination in a five day turnaround, but found the rampaging los Pumas a bridge too far this time around.

If nothing else, those with Stan do yourself a favour and watch the 3-4 minutes following the joint team trophy photos right at the end of the telecast, it's bloody hilarious!

Australia survive Levi red card, wild Final to claim Cape Town title

Mon, Dec 11, 2023, 1:08 AM
Nathan Williamson

Australia have produced a heroic effort to take out the Cape Town title with a 29-26 win over France in the Final.

For the second weekend in a row, the Aussies were forced to deal with several setbacks and a red card against the French before finding a way to get the job done.

Superstar Maddison Levi was sensationally sent from the field just before half-time after a high shot, having scored a double in a first-half blitz. This was compounded by an injury to Alysia Lefau-Fakaosilea as France hunted for their first trophy.

Demi Hayes was already in the stands with a knee injury suffered earlier in the day, leaving the Aussies facing a titanic battle defending the entire second half down a player.

22-year-old Kaitlin Shave proved the hero, scoring the winning try with two minutes to go as they held in for their first title in Cape Town, one of the few events they hadn't claimed.

"It was a really gutsy effort from the girls," captain Charlotte Caslick said after the match.

"Finishing the game with six players, we played France last week and also had a red card so to do that two weeks in a row is super brave from the girls. I'm just so proud of them."

It looked like the Australians were going to run away with the Final as they dominated France in the opening five minutes.

The blitz started through flyer Maddison Levi, adding another clip to the highlight reel with a great solo effort.

From here, the pressure of the Aussie defence shone as they strangled France. Pilfers from Alysia Lefau-Fakaosilea and Player of the Final Madison Ashby inside the French half allowed for instant counter-attacking and tries to Faith Nathan and Sharni Smale.

When France dropped the ball close to their line and Levi went in for her second, it was suddenly a 22-0 lead for the Commonwealth Games champions.

However, France refused to surrender in their quest for a first title. Anne-Cécile Ciofani put them on the board before the break with a nice piece of individual skill.

This is where the game turned on its head as Ciofani crossed for a second deep into first-half extra time as Australia had to defend with six following an injury to Lefau-Fakaosilea.

As players prepared to head into half-time, the TMO found Maddi Levi to have hit Camille Grassineau high as the playmaker threw the final pass. Levi was sent off as France reduced the margin to eight at the break.

World Cup star Caroline Droulin took advantage of the space with a perfect kick for Carla Neisen as France controlled the second half, looking destined for victory.

In desperate need of a spark, rookie Shave announced herself on the Sevens circuit. The flyer backed herself and beat her defender with a great in and out for the try with two minutes remaining.

The game wasn't over as Joanna Grisez sprinted away for the instant response but the Australians were able to control the restart and boot it out for an emotional title celebration.

“I’m speechless at the moment. The girls came over and gave me a big heart-filled hug and I just started bawling my eyes out," Player of the Final Ashby said.

“…Our coaches like to call it TnT so all that work at training helped. We prepare for everything and playing with six, we prepared the whole block for that.”

"We always fight for each other and the last minute of the first half really took it out of everyone so to keep going in the second half was really good," Caslick added.

"To win here and go back-to-back, we haven't done that in a while so it just sets our season up really well."

Argentina spoils Australia's fairytale Cape Town run in Final

Mon, Dec 11, 2023, 1:30 AM
Nathan Williamson

Australia have been unable to complete the Cape Town double as the men went down 45-12 to Argentina in the final.

The Women had Australian fans dreaming of a perfect end to 2023 after their gutsy win over France.

However, it was all Argentina in the first half as they dominated the Aussies to close out the win.

Despite the heavy defeat, the Aussies will take plenty of momentum into 2024 and January's Perth Sevens after two impressive wins over South Africa and Fiji in the finals.

Maurice Longbottom was at his electric best as they smothered the Commonwealth and World Cup champions in the quarter ansemi-finalsls. He was joined by the likes of Josh and James Turner along with Nathan Lawson, sending a message to the competitive circuit.

Unfortunately for John Manenti's side, the dream run ended in the Final as Argentina dominated the restart game in their fifth straight final.

It started poorly with captain Nick Malouf yellow-carded inside the first 90 seconds for a high shot. This led to a wild passage of play where Josh Turner snatched an intercept, only for Marcus Moneta to run him down and German Schulz to take his own intercept, running 80 metres for the opener.

Argentina then regathered the restart and Santiago Mare sliced straight through for two tries in 90 seconds. Another restart re-gather allowed Moneta to score his own five-pointer.

Matías Osadczuk’s late try in the half made it 28-0 at the break, all but securing the game.

Nathan Lawson got Australia on the board, with replacement Dietrich Roache making a crucial impact.

Roache then scored a full-length try after desperate defence kept the Aussies in the game.

However, Osadczuk’s second try with three minutes to go shut down their faint chances of a dream comeback.

Tomas Elizalde's soccer and score sealed the win as Los Pumas went one better than Dubai.

The second-place finish will see Australia rise to sixth on the World Series ladder, four points behind second-place South Africa as they head to Perth with momentum.

They will be hopeful of getting Henry Hutchison and Henry Patterson back from injury.

This coupled with the potential debut of Wallabies legend Michael Hooper leaves the program heading into 2024 with a spring in their step.

I assume referring to the pool incident:

https://www.reddit.com/r/rugbyunion/s/Gdy3icDmoH

(You shouldn't need an account to see the video)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jargan83

I assume referring to the pool incident:

https://www.reddit.com/r/rugbyunion/s/Gdy3icDmoH

(You shouldn't need an account to see the video)

---

Link was dead for me mate, but yes.
Anything on the socials I've seen so far has been cut short, best to see the original, if available, to watch/hear it unfold.

Might work on a mobile device as I got it from the Reddit mobile app.

Australia's Cape Town dominance rewarded with five Dream Team selections

Tue, Dec 12, 2023, 7:52 AM
Nathan Williamson

Australia's strong Cape Town tournament has been recognised, with the two sides dominating the Dream Team from the second event of the SVNS World Series.

Teagan Levi headlines the Women's side, included in back-to-back teams as she continues her breakout season.

Levi stood out throughout the weekend in her expanded role, showing off her growth with a great solo effort to score off her own kickoff against Japan.

She is joined by fellow young gun Bienne Terita, who relished the chance to start in the pool stages as Alysia Lefau-Fakaosilea served her suspension for a high tackle in the semi-final.

Fellow finalists France also had two selections, with Anne-Cécile Ciofani and Camille Grassineau named after they stunned New Zealand in the semi-finals.

UK's Emma Uren, New Zealand's Jazmin Felix-Hotham and USA's Naya Tapper round out the selections.

As for the Men, they enjoyed the most representation with three after their charge to the Final, including vice-captain Maurice Longbottom.

Longbottom was electric in attack and defence as they dominated hosts South Africa in the quarter-finals before defeating Fiji in the semi-finals.

He was joined in kind by Nathan Lawson and James Turner, helping them to their first Final since their Hong Kong triumphs.

Argentina duo Matias Osadczuk and German Schultz were included after brutal performances in the Final against the Aussies.

2022 World Rugby Player of the Year Terry Kennedy continues his flying return to Sevens with a nomination, with Fiji's Kaminieli Rasaku rounding out the team.

The Australians will look to continue their form into Perth, with the SVNS World Series heading to Australia on January 26-28