Maddison Levi: ‘I don’t want to earn my spot because of my sevens career’

It did not take long for Maddison Levi to get the Test rugby itch. When the 24-year-old travelled with the Wallaroos ahead of the second Laurie O’Reilly match of the season against the Black Ferns in August, it was initially more of a fact-finding mission.

Levi had only ever known rugby sevens. Her Commonwealth Games and Rugby Sevens World Cup gold medals are proof enough of that. But the 15-a-side game is somewhat alien to her.

She joined the squad two months after she had helped Australia Women’s Sevens to a HSBC SVNS World Championship with tournament victories in Valladolid and Bordeaux.

In the end Levi got 30 minutes off the bench in the 66-19 loss. At the time of her introduction, the Wallaroos were 52-7 down.

During that half-an-hour on the Go Media Stadium turf, Levi looked comfortable. She beat two defenders and made 14 metres from three carries. She even won two turnovers.

“I said my main goal when I first went over there was to get amongst the environment and just learn XVs because I’d never played a game before, let alone done a training session,” Levi told RugbyPass.

“I said, I didn’t want any pressure to play and just wanted to use it as a training camp. Then, me being me, I got two training sessions in and said, ‘Is the opportunity to still play available? Because I think I actually would benefit from coming on in the back end of the game and just seeing how I’m going.’

“I’m such a confidence player that tries to change the game, and I knew there was stuff I could do. With 20 minutes left and the game kind of being that far gone, there was no pressure on me to ultimately flip the scoreline. It was about the impact I could come on and bring.

“That was such a good learning experience, and the girls there helped me out. Just to be able to play alongside some of the girls that I’ve watched in that XVs jersey and for them to be able to help me, I couldn’t ask for a better debut.”

The path to Levi making her Test debut was around two years. Levi had also signed for the Queensland Reds ahead of the 2025 Super Rugby Women’s season, only for a hand injury to derail her hopes of making Australia’s Women’s Rugby World Cup squad.

But timing was everything, and August’s 15-a-side debut came largely because of where it sat in the calendar.

With rugby sevens in its offseason and a week or so before her commitments in Ultimate Sevens began, the timing was perfect to try something new.

Just what those 30 minutes off the bench could lead to over the next three years remains to be seen. Levi, though, has already made clear that 15s is no longer simply something she wants to learn from the sidelines.

“I obviously wanted to play at the last World Cup in England [last year],” Levi explained. “I ultimately set that goal aside and postponed it a little bit just so then I could learn the game a lot more. I didn’t want to put myself in an uncomfortable position that’s ultimately not going to benefit me and probably hinder my confidence a little bit.

“I also don’t want to put myself into the team knowing that I wasn’t 100%, when there are people that have been training for four years for these monumental events. I don’t want to just earn my spot because of my sevens career.

“But when we sat down and looked at the timeline, we just thought the cross-game between New Zealand and Australia was such a perfect time. Even if I didn’t play, just to go over there, learn from the girls, get some experience, and then play against the second-best in the world.”

The obvious question, then, is whether Women’s Rugby World Cup 2029 is part of her plans.

The Wallaroos are targeting success at their home tournament, with significant changes already being made to the women’s programme.
Soon enough the nation’s sevens and XVs high performance teams will live under the same roof at a new headquarters in Ballymore.

Former Australia Women’s Sevens head coach Tim Walsh has been appointed Rugby Australia’s Director of Women’s High Performance, with a remit that includes overseeing greater movement between the sevens and XVs programmes.

That kind of crossover is already established elsewhere, with the Black Ferns, Canada and the USA among the programmes to have used players across both formats.

Last year, Wallaroos record try-scorer Maya Stewart spent time playing on the HSBC SVNS Series, while a number of Australia Women’s Sevens stars have been gaining 15-a-side experience during WXV Global Series. Olympic gold medallist Charlotte Caslick debuted for the Wallaroos but ultimately did not get selected for Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025.

There is also the added appeal of playing at your best and being successful in front of a home crowd at a home tournament. Something that Levi has done plenty when the SVNS Series has dipped its toes in Sydney and Perth’s waters during her career.

Inspired by Australia’s success at the 2016 Olympic Games, Women’s Rugby World Cup 2029 – with LA28 in the middle – could give Levi a chance to inspire others in the same way and help drive that growth.

“To play for your country internationally is awesome, but to also play within Australia, that’s when you grow the momentum and you build the momentum for women’s sport,” she said.

“You look at when the girls won the Rio gold, how much of a build-up they had and momentum they had with not only girls, but boys joining rugby sevens – to hopefully have that with the way XVs is growing is something I’d like to take part in.

“To be able to play a home World Cup is something that I hope I’ll be able to achieve. We’ve got a good couple of years ahead with the LA [Olympic] Games and then the 2029 World Cup. I’m really excited to be a part of that and hopefully just help grow rugby within Australia.”

A different kind of offseason

Levi is currently in the final throes of the inaugural Ultimate Sevens season. The three-stage season will conclude at Gtech Community Stadium on Thursday 24 September.

Last week in Biarritz, Levi was named the tournament’s MVP as her team, Pacific Current, triumphed in the women’s final against Clan Tartan. Pacific Current now top the women’s standings after two stages. It has set up an enthralling Championship round in West London.

The competition blends traditional rugby sevens with a number of law variations, creating something familiar but distinctly different. It has also brought together some of the best players in the shortened format, giving Levi a chance to test herself against – and learn from – many of her usual SVNS Series rivals.

For a player who has been a professional sevens player since she was a teenager, these weeks have offered a unique insight.

The Fijian players have shown her how they thrive in a lack of structure. Other teammates have revealed that they have been paid more to play in this tournament than they would have playing for their country.

“We’re pretty fortunate in Australia to be full-time athletes, but for some of these people to be able to travel the world and get paid doing something they love is something that’s really beautiful,” Levi said.

“I feel like this comp – this new format – is actually going to help build sevens and grow the depth. It’s probably the only time you can pick your opponent’s brain and be like, ‘Why do you do this?’ or ‘How can I do this to get better?’

“That will just help create and build sevens and hopefully build a new fan base all around the world, one continent at a time.”

At the conclusion of Ultimate Sevens, Levi will return to Australia and begin preparations for the 2026/27 SVNS Series season.

It is a big year; Olympic qualification is up for grabs, and Australia will be looking to defend its World Championship crown. And Levi will have another objective, too: finding out just how far she can take this new chapter in XVs.