Perth Sevens

Aussies learn their fate as pools confirmed for Perth Sevens

Thu, Jan 11, 2024, 10:26 AM
Nathan Williamson

Both Australian teams have received welcoming pools ahead of January's home event in Perth.

The Men have been drawn alongside Ireland, Great Britain and the USA in Pool B for the third leg of the World Series on January 26-28.

John Manenti's side dropped their opener game in Dubai against the Irish, going down 19-12. However, they enjoy a favourable record, winning all five match-ups in 2023.

They have had similar success against the combined Great Britain side, winning five of their six matches, including a 34-5 win last May in Twickenham.

As for the USA, they produced a convincing 26-12 win in Dubai to take seventh, headlined by a double to Nathan Lawson.

"The men's competition is tough, there are no soft games. Ireland have been consistently finishing in the top four, Great Britain gets better the more they play together, and the USA have a host of superstars, including Perry Baker returning for Perth," Manenti said after the draw.

"We can't wait to get to the West and continue to build towards the Olympics."

New Zealand finds themselves in the 'Pool of Death', drawn alongside Fiji, Samoa and France in Pool C whilst Series leaders Argentina are in Pool A along with Dubai winners South Africa, Canada and Spain.

Meanwhile, Tim Walsh's side will be in Pool A alongside Canada, Great Britain and Spain.

It will be the first time the Aussies face Canada since Dubai in 2022. On that day, the Australians produced a shutout 33-0 win on their way to the title.

As for Great Britain, the Australians have conceded just five points in their three encounters in the World Series.

This includes a 21-5 win in Hong Kong, with Charlotte Caslick and the Levi sisters scoring in the victory.

"We haven't played those teams in a while so we're excited. We know how strong they are, particularly Canada, who are quickly improving and definitely a team to watch out for," Walsh said.

“After a nice break, we're fresh physically and mentally and ready to go after a good week and a half of training. Other than Demi being injured we're at a good fitness level, and we've got a really strong squad to pick a team from."

South Africa rounds out the pool, a team that they haven't faced since they won their way onto the World Series in 2023.

Cape Town runners up France will take on Fiji, Brazil and Spain in Pool B as defending Olympic champions New Zealand face USA, Ireland and Japan in Pool C.

Perth Sevens Pools

MEN'S

Pool A

Argentina, South Africa, Canada, Spain

Pool B

Australia, Ireland, Great Britain, USA

Pool C

Fiji, New Zealand, France, Samoa

WOMEN'S

Pool A

Australia, Canada, Great Britain, South Africa

Pool B

France, Fiji, Brazil, Spain

Pool C

New Zealand, USA, Ireland, Japan

Walsh, Aussies rally around Demi Hayes after long-term setback, Maddison Levi set to miss Perth group stages

Thu, Jan 11, 2024, 7:27 AM
Nathan Williamson

Australia coach Tim Walsh has confirmed Demi Hayes will likely miss the Paris Olympics as they prepare to deal with the pool stages of Perth without Maddison Levi.

Hayes suffered a long-term ACL injury during their quarter-final win against Ireland in Cape Town.

The Triple Crown winner underwent surgery at the end of last year, with the team not expecting Hayes to feature for the rest of the World Series and July's Olympics.

“Demi’s handled it remarkably well and so has the team. Demi adds value on and off the field, she’s still going to have a very important role.” Walsh said to Rugby.com.au

“We’re a team that everybody has a role and has a piece of the puzzle that adds value and are valued. We’re all very emotional and disappointed for Demi. She’s right now doing recovery and trying to get herself back on the field whenever that is.

“It is 'expect the worst, hope for the best' and she’s just preparing to get healthy and get playing whenever that may be."

There is a history of Sevens players returning from ACL injury for the Olympics, with Gemma Etheridge returning in time for Rio. However, Walsh concedes Hayes has a long way to go.

"There’s returning to play and returning to perform when you’re going to the world’s greatest sporting event and playing for one of the best teams in a very highly athletic game," he added.

They will also be without Maddison Levi for the group stages after her red card in the Final.

Levi was sent off towards the end of the first half against France, receiving a three-match ban.

“We have a really good lawyer (team manager) Scott Bowen, we call him Dennis Denuto from The Castle,” Walsh said with a smile.

For Walsh and the Australians, the opening two events are proof anything can happen on the Sevens circuit.

“It’s good preparation because the unpredictability of sport delivers different scenarios that you probably can’t plan for as much as you want to," Walsh believes.

“We have a philosophy in this team we don’t ever want to be cramming. That causes anxiety so we want to be the best prepared team and we know that it’ll deliver elite consistency.

“We sit in a room and talk about different scenarios but a 22-0 lead into a red card wasn’t one of those scenarios."

Is there a WF tour involved with this? Beer’s before during and after ? Meet ups etc?

HSBC SVNS brings a star-studded music and rugby sevens line-up to Perth on Australia Day long weekend
Zach Margolius
PerthNow
January 12, 2024 11:39AM



It’s not every day an international rugby tournament and music festival mash-up comes to town.

Think the rugby equivalent of T20 cricket — HSBC SVNS will light up HBF Park across the Australia Day long weekend in a unique fusion of culture and entertainment.

The globetrotting event traverses five continents each season, and Perth’s iteration will feature the best twelve men’s and women’s rugby sevens teams in the world, along with international food offerings and a chart-topping live music line-up.

Partyers will be kept standing with the likes of Aussie exports Peking Duk and Hot Dub Time Machine bringing festival bangers to three stages — plus an appearance by Perth’s own reggae-rock foursome, Coterie, which is sure to wow.

For those keen on keeping the party going and drinks flowing, The Spring Hotel is framed as the prime spot to see it all unfold.

Pride of place, though, again went to Charlotte Caslick’s outfit, who, for the second week running after lifting the Dubai Sevens crown seven days earlier, were a class apart in annexing the title at the same Cape Town venue where they lifted last year’s World Cup. Credit: Matt King/Getty Images

It comes as Australia’s women will be looking to defend their title, having triumphed in the Cape Town Sevens in December after holding on bravely when down to just six players to edge a drama-filled final against France.

Pride of place, though, again went to Charlotte Caslick’s outfit, who, for the second week running after lifting the Dubai Sevens crown seven days earlier, were a class apart in annexing the title at the same Cape Town venue where they lifted last year’s World Cup.

But they only prevailed after an extraordinary final, clinging on to beat France 29-26 in a pulsating contest which saw star player Maddison Levi play both the hero and villain of the piece, scoring two tries before being shown red for a dangerous shoulder-led tackle.

Levi, who on Saturday had become the quickest player to reach 100 tries in women’s World Series matches, had again shone on Sunday, scoring twice in the 24-14 quarter-final win over Ireland and creating another in the 33-5 semi-final victory over the USA.

Levi’s double in the final, which took her tournament-leading tally to nine tries, allied with other first-half scores for Faith Nathan and Sharni Smale, made Australia 22-0 clear and seemingly out of sight.

But the match’s whole complexion changed when she was shown red for her reckless challenge on Camille Grassineau as the French hit back to make it 22-14 by the interval.

Forced to play the entire second half with six, Australia demonstrated grit to hold the French, with newcomer Kaitlin Shave’s lightning breaking down the left edge, earning their key try with two minutes left.

“It was just a really gutsy effort with just six players, super brave from the girls. I’m so proud of them,” said captain Caslick.

She said they were playing for key teammate Demi Hayes, who had suffered what had looked like a serious non-contact knee injury in the Ireland match.

“We obviously had Demi at the back of our minds out there. We’re hoping she gets a positive result from her scan later,” she said.

Madi Ashby, the player of the final, added: “Oh my god, it broke our hearts seeing her on the ground there, she’s one of our sisters. We wanted to win it for her.”

In a major coup for Perth rugby, the event was also confirmed to host the Australian leg of the series for the 2025 season.

Tickets are available for $35 at https://www.svns.com/en/events/perth/tickets

https://www.perthnow.com.au/sport/hs...end-c-13195844

Just waiting on the match scheduled to book tickets. Keen to go with the kids but sure they will make the whole day.