Australia women and men chase history after making SVNS Perth finals
Both the Australian women’s and men’s sevens sides stand on the verge of greatness. Australia haven’t won the ‘double’ at a home event since the Sydney Sevens in 2018.
But the opportunity to forge their own legacies in an Olympic year awaits with both teams qualifying for the SVNS Perth final at HBF Park.
They may have slipped up in pool play with a surprising loss to Great Britain but there’s no denying the women in gold’s favouritism heading into the final on Sunday evening.
Australia ended New Zealand’s 41-game unbeaten streak to take out the SVNS Dubai final last month, and they backed that up with another win in Cape Town a week later.
But playing on home soil is another challenge altogether, but they’ve embraced it with both grace and poise, as well as a smile on their faces, on Australia’s west coast.
After beating rivals New Zealand in a thrilling quarter-final on Saturday afternoon, Australia shot out of the blocks on the final day with a 24-7 win over the United States of America.
“It’s awesome. Obviously our goal was to perform in front of our family and friends so to be able to get through to the grand final against the Irish, super exciting,” Australian Bella Nasser told reporters.
“We’re all really keen and now we have one more job to do. We’re all really excited.”
The road to the SVNS Perth Cup final hasn’t been without controversy. Australia had received two red cards in two events before this weekend, but more drama was on the way at home.
Rising star Teagan Levi was sent off against Great Britain late on Friday, and older sister Maddison was shown a red card less than 24 hours later against New Zealand.
Losing two of the from players from Dubai and Cape Town has been a challenge for the Aussies to overcome, but the “sisterhood” has responded with near-perfect execution on the field.
“We’ve lost two of our pretty key players. Both the Levi’s and (Bienne Terita) has gone down – yet to know what’s happened with her,” Nasser said.
“We’ve got a really good sisterhood within our team and we all step up when we need to.
“As long as we stick together and do our role, we all play a piece of the puzzle at the end of the day. A lot of people are stepping up to do the job of the Levi’s.
“We’re really excited for the final and we know it’s going to be hard work against the fighting Irish.”
Ireland stand in Australia’s way of their third Cup final win of the season. The Irish dispatched of Great Britain by an emphatic 31-7 scoreline on day three.
It’s only their second appearance in a Cup final, with their first coming at the Seville Sevens in the 2022 season.
“They’re a fighting team, we call them the fighting Irish. They’re so strong and very quick and agile.
“We know it will be a fight and we know they’ll come out really hard.
“We just have to stick tight in our sisterhood and keep working hard for each other.”
With the crowd still buzzing after the women’s sides’ win in their semi-final, the men’s team were met with a deafening cheer as they ran out onto the field at HBF Park.
Standing in Australia’s way of their second consecutive Cup final appearance was Fiji – a team they beat on their way to the SVNS Cape Town decider.
But, after a nervy start, the Aussies showed their class as Nick Malouf and Nathan Lawson crossed for tries. But the game was still very much up for grabs.
Leading by five points with a minute to play, captain Maurice Longbottom decided to chew the clock by taking a penalty shot at goal. That successful attempt stretch their lead out to eight.
“Yeah emotions are running high we’re on home soil so there’s always that added pressure of you have to do well. We didn’t start the tournament well, we were two and one,” Longbottom said.
“To be lucky enough to make it through to the grand final with this amazing crowd and family getting behind us, it’s outstanding.
“The slow the clock down. There was time on the clock,” he added when asked about the penalty goal.
The hosts deliver!
Australia men mirror the women’s success, reaching the #HSBCSVNSPER final 🇦🇺 #HSBCSVNS | @Aussie7s https://t.co/dCLQa8zMjr pic.twitter.com/bhvp8JAmiO
— HSBC SVNS (@SVNSSeries) January 28, 2024
“We were up by, I think it was eight when we kicked that field goal there.
“Slow the clock down, chew as much time out of that and then we just play footy.”
The men in gold will face SVNS Series leaders Argentina in their final. Los Pumas Sevens beat the Australians in the Cape Town final last month.
But the Australians are full of confidence – and they have a passionate crowd in their corner, too.
“There’s a reason they’re on top,” Longbottom discussed.
“They’re playing some outstanding footy and they have been all year.
“We’ve just got to be better in the air, we’ve got to be physical and we’ve got to get up for the fight and I’ve got no doubt we will.”
Comments on RugbyPass
SBW’s bro’town commentary and lazy default to hyperbole should be ignored, a technical analyst he is not. Sotutu is a good player when games get goosey loosey, high skill set that fans of Zinzan recall with starry eyes. But you need power and mongrel at no8 in the Test arena and Sotutu gets found wanting there, much like Akira Ioane. No8’s like Zinzan and Ardie have bucketloads of mongrel and power and tenacity which allow the skill sets to flourish.
11 Go to commentsAn inside pass to attacker on the angle can make a drift defence look lead footed. Relies on fleet footed forward/s to get across from the breakdown. An argument for the smaller faster 7 perhaps?
3 Go to commentsSensational tackle. The reds one was late and rightly penalised. The other two were simultaneous with the pass. If nitpicking TMOs can’t find fault there clearly isn’t any.
1 Go to commentsBrumbies fully deserved their win on the back of their physicality and desire to control the ball. Xavier Numia, Asafo Aumua and Tyrel Lomax should be the ABs starting front row when we start our test schedule. They have “come of age” and have bested all they have faced as well as been dominant with ball in hand in making the gainline. With De Groot, Tamaiti Williams and Fletcher Newell backed up by Taukei'aho and Cody Taylor there's not an international front row that can trouble us. Can't wait to face the Boks over there, won't be no one point game this time.
5 Go to commentsKinda strange that he wasn’t with a premiership team or a higher level of rugby? Start playing late or something? With that kind of size and athleticism you’d think someone would have picked him up?
2 Go to commentsShows how much attitude matters. Last week the Brumbies got done, this week they dominated the tournament leaders, who were likely thinking they could cruise to victory.
5 Go to commentsA Turtle has more pace and leg drive than Owen Franks, so it’s a good thing he only had to run 90 metres for that try.
2 Go to commentsOh Tamati Tua was in the vastly over-rated Leon MacDonalds Blues system? Well, no wonder he was wasted, much like Emoni Narawa and Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens under MacDonald. now look at them. Good thing Tua isn’t eligible, the Aussies latch on to any player who isn’t tied down.
5 Go to commentsMark Telea is a lot of things, but a defensive juggernaut has never been one of them. There will be far bigger tests in that regard for the youngster.
11 Go to commentsLove and respect to Fiji but not a chance outside of 7s
4 Go to commentsGood summation Ned. Agree the Canes were out-muscled for once (except at the scrum!) by a focused Brumbies outfit. Tua deserves consideration for higher honors after the way he humbled Jordie and the Canes defense. Thankfully, his lack of eligibility for Oz keeps him from Joe’s plans. While I also agree the injuries affected the Canes performance, some players seemed to lack focus and intensity for this match. Perhaps after the Blues demolished the Brumbies, they thought it was going to be easy? A good reminder that any slip up in preparation can have a big affect on the result. Brumbies deserved that win.
5 Go to commentsKarl Dixon should never have been appointed this fixture, absolute disgrace, He’s not much of a referee anyway, didn't have the balls to send his mate care off
5 Go to commentsBrilliant article! Harry of 8/9
3 Go to comments‘UK athletes' have been in the NFL from the start.
2 Go to commentsIt’s going to be Scott Barrett. He’s the coaches mate and captain of a previously elite team. Ardie a great option but scooter has worked with the coach and Ardie still as big a leader as needed.
23 Go to commentsI commend Colin Scotts bio All Balls. He was the first Aussie to make it to NFL. But he was poached and did a full apprenticeship at the University of Hawaii. He was 130kgs surfed played 1st grade cricket etc. big guy by normal but not NFL standards and a top athlete. Even then the nfl were picking up Tongans and Samoans for their natural size and explosive power. They want explosive power not cardio from the big boys so a guy like Taniela Tupou would have been good if picked up young enough. He has fast twitch and they’d bulk the little lad up and give him something to do. soccer teams set up academies and look for Over Sara’s talent eg Messi was at Barcelona since a teenager and harry kewell went to Leeds as a teenager like 16 or something.
11 Go to commentsThe article alludes to the fact that this isn’t about picking a captain. But picking a great captain. So who would make for a great All Black captain - not just an obvious or safe shoo-in? I’m not sure Ardie’s the guy and Barret doesn’t stand out either.
23 Go to commentsI guess we may all agree on the fact, that the ABs and Boks are the two in contest for No 1 in rugby history (the triple-A sort of) …. the Wallabies, England and France are the next tier, with Ireland being the new kid in town (AA) …. in my view it makes little sense creating imaginary competitions (unless you have too much time to waste)
45 Go to commentsWhat a joke. Total joke and the pundits commentating, all of whom know a bit about the game, could barely disguise their contempt. Reaching for the card then pulling back when he realised a red card would carry further match suspensions is simply not his decision to make. A clear and obvious influence on the outcome of this match and indeed, the championship path.
5 Go to commentsI like the idea, in NZ the Ranfurly Shield and NPC coexist, both having their own bragging rights. The World Cup would be the pinnacle, but the competition and travels of these trophies would be interesting.
45 Go to comments