How Maddison Levi is changing the way SVNS teams defend Australia

Former Wallaby Morgan Turinui has explained how HSBC SVNS Series teams have to change the way they play against Australia, after Maddison Levi joined legendary try-scoring company during last weekend’s regular season finale in New York.

Levi has become just the third woman to score 250 tries on the world’s premier sevens circuit, joining Black Ferns Sevens icons Michalea Brake (nee Blyde) and Portia Woodman-Wickliffe in that exclusive club.

The 23-year-old is also the first Australian and the fastest woman to reach the rare career try-scoring tally, having run in four tries in a 40-0 win against Canada on Saturday. Younger sister Teagan Levi scored a double in that one-sided fixture during pool play.

Australia made it to their sixth Women’s Cup Final of the 2025/26 season, with the Levi sisters starring once again in the decider. Maddison crossed for one try and Teagan recorded another double, but the Black Ferns Sevens fought back to claim a dramatic 22-21 victory.

Levi is closing in on the all-time top try-scorer title in Women’s SVNS, with Brake currently holding that record with 287. With the three-event World Championships Series starting in a few weeks, Levi has a chance to make more try-scoring history this season.

“She’s off to Molong in country New South Wales on Friday to do kids clinics and community activations, that’s the mark of the human being she is,” Turinui said on Stan Sport’s Between Two Posts.

“Teams have changed the way they play when they play Maddi Levi. Lots of teams are marking two people on her, one either side. They’re practicing not showing her the outside. She makes teams change the way they play.

“Why New Zealand have been so successful against Australia is because they have changed the way they defend just when they play Australia, just to negate Maddi Levi.”

Before the Levi sisters made their mark with three tries between them in nine minutes, Kelsey Teneti opened the scoring in the SVNS New York Cup Final. Following the Levi’s try-scoring spree, Teneti played a key role in New Zealand’s remarkable comeback.

Alena Saili and Teneti both crossed for tries, making it a one-score game with about two minutes remaining. Levi produced a stunning try-saving tackle on Saili in the dying stages, but Katelyn Vahaakolo burrowed over for a crucial try in the next phase.

Black Ferns Sevens captain Risi Pouri-Lane remained cool, calm and collected under pressure, slotting the tournament-winning conversion with 20 seconds left. New Zealand took out their fifth Women’s SVNS title of the season and have been crowned Series Winners.

“That’s the biggest thing is being consistent,” Pouri-Lane said post-game on the broadcast.

“Evey team is getting better, I think that’s the beauty of having the top eight teams at the moment is there’s no easy game. Every game is treated like a final.

“To have the consistency over the past five months has been huge for us, but the job’s not done yet.

“For us, even just before the game started, we knew it was all going to be about heart. Finals footy can go either way, we all know that,” the skipper reflected.

“But to grind it out when the odds may not be in your favour… the belief within every single person behind you is huge.

“We spoke about just being really critical and making sure we’re doing the simple things well. We had a gameplan, sometimes the gameplan doesn’t always go the way you plan, but we knew that if we stuck to the basics and we had our numbers from a defensive point of view, because we know the Aussie girls are talented… we knew what we needed to do to try and shut them down.”