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Australia name strong squads for SVNS Series event Down Under
In just over one week, the SVNS Series will venture Down Under for the third leg of the 2023/24 season with the world’s best players set to take the field at Perth’s HBF Park.
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With the expectation, excitement and pressure that comes with being the ‘home’ team at a SVNS event, the Australian women’s and men’s sides have named squads fit for the occasion.
The Aussie women are looking to maintain their golden start to the season, with Tim Walsh’s team starting the campaign with Cup final glory in both Dubai and Cape Town.
Maddison Levi stole the show during a practically perfect run at both events last month, but a red card in the Cape Town final will see the try-scoring phenom miss the first three matches in Perth.
Olympian Demi Hayes is also set for a lengthy stint on the sidelines after sustaining an ACL injury at the Western Cape venue – she will miss the Paris Games later this year, too.
Coach Tim Walsh has called on Queenslander Heidi Dennis for her SVSN Series debut in what promises to be another big weekend for the Aussie women.
“Everyone in the squad is pumped about the opportunity to perform in front of our home crowd in Perth – though we are well aware of the need to be disciplined and focus on our performance,” Walsh said in a statement.
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“We are not an outcome-focused team – we continue to adhere to our philosophy of ‘process and performance’. Our desire is to execute our individual roles and put on a show for Perth and Australia.
“We have selected a strong and experienced team which includes a debutant in Heidi Dennis, who replaces the talented Demi Hayes. Haidi performed incredibly well during pre-season tournaments against the world’s best teams in New Zealand and Fiji.”
Unfortunately for Australian rugby fans, former Wallabies captain Michael Hooper will not debut for the sevens side in Perth as he continues to transition to the new code.
But it’s far from doom and gloom for the Aussie men who will welcome back two-time Olympian Henry Hutchison to the world stage from January 26 to 28.
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Hutchison injured his ACL during the Sydney Sevens 12 months ago, and now, after a gruelling year rehabbing the cruel blow, the veteran is back where he belongs – in Aussie gold.
“It is unfortunate to not have ‘Hoops’ available for Perth, however, we are looking to Paris and playing the long game with him – he’s certainly working hard to be ready as quickly as possible,” Manenti said in a statement.
“Nonetheless, it is such a massive boost for us to get ‘Hutch’ back. He means so much to us and he does so much for the group on and off the field. As we know, ACL injuries are tough to come back from, and Henry has worked incredibly hard to be able to make it to Perth – it will give us some additional inspiration.
“I want to thank the Melbourn Rebels for allowing us to bring back Darby Lancaster for Perth – he was with us all last season, so I expect it won’t take him too long to get up to speed with the guys, we saw what a great sevens player he is all last season, so it’s a boost for us to get him back.”
Tickets are on sale for the upcoming Perth SVNS at HBF Park and can be bought HERE.
Australian Women’s Sevens team for Perth SVNS
- Sharni Smale
- Faith Nathan
- Dominique Du Toit
- Teagan Levi
- Madison Ashby
- Charlotte Caslick (c)
- Kaitlin Shave
- Bella Nasser
- Maddison Levi
- Heidi Dennis*
- Bienne Terita
- Alysia Lefau-Fakaosilea
- Sariah Paki
*Denotes potential debut
Australian Men’s Sevens team
- Henry Hutchison
- Ben Dowling
- Henry Palmer
- Dietrich Roache
- Tim Clements
- Josh Turner
- Matt Gonzalez
- Nick Malouf (c)
- Maurice Longbottom
- Nathan Lawson
- James Turner
- Darby Lancaster
- Hayden Sargeant
Comments on RugbyPass
Amazing. The losing team’s ratings are higher than the winning team’s. Mallia definitely didn’t deserve a y. What game were you watching? Should have got a w or an x. ADP hardly featured in that second half. At one point I wondered when he’d been subbed. Seems to me as if he gets an automatic 9 just for getting onto the team sheet.
1 Go to commentsI’m sorry. That second half was far from enthralling. It was painful to watch.
1 Go to commentsVery generous! If you’d missed the game, reading this you’d conclude that it was the Quins front row that cost them the game. Marler getting a blanket 6 for his demented contribution to the game. Puzzling.
1 Go to commentsCan’t see Toulouse beating Leinster at this rate.
7 Go to commentsADP was having a very average game until winning that penalty for Toulouse, sticking his big head in the way. “The head of God”?
7 Go to commentsHarlequins doing their best to do as little damage as possible with all the possession. Looks like they skipped catch and pass drills this week.
7 Go to commentsSeeing pictures of Jacques high-fiving it with Irish players breaks my heart. Too soon. I need more time.
1 Go to commentsquins is all over the place. The minute they get the ball they panic. Quins can still win tho just need to win all rucks otherwise just don't bother.
7 Go to commentsGreat wins for the male & female kiwi sides. Ireland not far away..
1 Go to commentsWhy is this dude getting so much coverage? Usually knobs like this get cancelled.
2 Go to commentsWow. What was that? A 3 million word meandering article about what exactly?
1 Go to commentsNice piece of writing. And yes the Sharks pulled a rabbit from the hat and were a little lucky with that penalty try that wasn’t given… however the Sharks (with their resources) should be way more consistent and should be putting teams like Claremont away for breakfast. I expect more from them and hope they kick on now.
8 Go to commentsJust what the Sharks needed to get things going in the right direction Defence on the outside really creates havoc for the whole team and needs to be addressed.
8 Go to commentsWell done guys both teams will be ready to play knockout rugby.
1 Go to commentsSurprised that Ramos isn't starting at 15. But what a squad of galacticos!
2 Go to commentsWhy is it a snub? What journalistic garbage is that? Sure the guy is a great player, but there are plenty of loose forwards and not all of them can be Springboks. Also, I know of no-one who doubts Rassie’s judgment. South Africa has a conveyor belt of loose forwards that just keeps producing, so the competition is intense. I certainly wish him well, but there is no entitlement and there is no snub.
17 Go to commentsSkelton may be brought back for the Wallabies so that would be the only reason that may hinder Wilson. Easily the form, most skilful and game IQ of any Oz 8. Valentini’s best and favourite position is 6, but lineouts may be an issue with Skelton, Valentini and Wilson. Will be interesting what Schmidt goes for but for me Wilson should be picked on form. Schmidt rewards work rate, skill and consistency. All that glitters every so often won’t be in contention. Greely is one of those players that has a knack of making the right decision. A coach is going to love him because he knows week in week out he’s going to get the job done. The second try Greely wasn’t the guy who made the initial break it was Flook, Greely was at the bottom of the ruck when Flook was off along the sideline. Greely got up and made the effort to catch up with play but also read the play nicely and hit the pass from Campbell at pace and then held the pass beautifully to Ryan.
6 Go to commentsSpot on Ben. Dead right. Havili looked great at 10. Easily the highest rugby IQ of any NZ player these days. Getting a kick charged down is a result of getting used to adjusting your depth to the line at 10, which he will sort out with time. But other than that it was an outstanding first effort in that position this year. I think the NZ media has misunderstood this directive from Razor. Havili might rank behind B Barrett this year, but Beuden is 33 this month and won't last much longer. DMaC is great but flaky and not really a test match animal (his efforts in Dunedin versus Aus last year for example). If Razor can't have Mounga, DMaC is too unstructured for Razor (and is just too small for test rugby). Havili will end up our first choice first five, and in partnership with Jodie will be excellent. Two triple threat operators in tandem, and big bodies and tough tacklers to boot. Jordoe will be the ABs goal kicker. I am an Aucklander and Blues (and Warriors) fan, but Havili at 10 is going to be sensational in time… he can be the best first five in the world by the end of this year. No question.
6 Go to commentsSharks deserved to be far further back by the last quarter. Their tackling was awful, their set pieces were disappointing, their defensive organization was poor (especially on the Kok side of the D line), they kept making unnecessary errors, and they never looked like cracking the Clermont defense during those first 60m. Masuku kept them in touch, with some help from the Clermont generosity on penalty opportunities. Agree with the writer of this article. It was belligerence, and ability to raise their pressure game just enough, that turned the last quarter into a Bok-style shutout. Clermont have a reputation of not playing the full 80m, and there was a bit of that for sure. But, quite often when the intensity of a team drops off in the last quarter credit is due to the opponent for tiring them out. At 60m, with the Kok try, you thought that just maybe the game was on. At 70m, with the Mapimpi contribution, one felt that Clermont were fading, while facing a team that would maintain the pressure game through the final whistle. Good win in the end, but the Sharks are still playing way below their potential. And with their resources, and a coach that has had enough time to figure things out, they are running out of excuses.
8 Go to commentsGood riddance
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