Why Levi sisters turned down ‘daily’ interest from rival codes
Just because something feels right doesn’t necessarily mean it’s easy. Maddison Levi shed tears for days after making the tough decision to leave AFLW for an opportunity in rugby sevens.
But after pursuing the opportunity of a lifetime with the Aussie sevens side, try-scoring phenom Levi hasn’t looked back. Not one bit.
Levi, who was nominated for World Rugby’s Player of the Year and named in the series Dream Team, was nothing short of sensational during a breakout season on the World Series circuit in 2022/23.
While the Black Ferns dominated the season, Levi emerged as a golden ray of promise for the Australians as the AFLW draftee crossed for a record 57 tries.
Unsurprisingly, the sporting world took notice. Sevens coach Tim Walsh revealed that both Maddison and Teagan Levi were “getting daily and weekly phone calls from other sports.”
But the superstar sisters have found a home in sevens. With the new-look SVNS series just weeks away and the Olympics not too far behind, the Levi’s wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.
“Obviously NRL was definitely a drawcard and AFL, having played a season and Teags being drafted and not being able to actually debut, I guess they play on your mind,” Maddison told Wide World of Sports.
“But then once we made the transition to sevens, I guess you can’t put a price on travel. We’re so young, we get to compete at the highest level for our country.
“I think nothing in the female sports that we were looking at compares with that level and just being able to train as an elite athlete day in, day out. Not having to have that second job… and to be able to compete against countries like New Zealand and France and just compete at that high level constantly. Nothing really was on par with that.”
Younger sister Teagan finished last season as one of the brightest rising stars in the rugby sevens world.
Playing alongside the likes of Charlotte Caslick and Madison Ashby, Teagan emerged as one of Australia’s best playmaking options. The youngster was even goal-kicking at the esteemed Hong Kong Sevens.
Teagan, who was also drafted by the Gold Coast Suns, is set for a breakout year as one of 17 players in the Australia women’s squad for the upcoming SVNS season.
“This is a huge season for the Sevens program, obviously with an exciting new format for the HSBC SVNS and culminating with the Olympics in Paris, which is the absolute pinnacle for our program,” coach Tim Walsh said.
“Our squad still has a huge amount of talent from the dominant 2022 team, not to mention a couple of gold medallists in Charlotte and Sharni. “We have a number of players that can be considered among the best players in the Sevens world and we have added to that this year with some exciting stars of the future in Kaitlin, Sidney and Heidi. “Maddison and Teagan are genuine competitive culture drivers in our squad, which is quite remarkable when you consider how inexperienced they are. “They have quickly gone from rookies to elite players on the world circuit. Maddi has become one of the best players in the world and someone that all oppositions fear. “Teagan’s improvement over the last 12 months is a testament to her toughness, resilience, and desire to be better. We are thrilled to keep such outstanding players – and people – in the Rugby Sevens program.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Harlequins doing their best to do as little damage as possible with all the possession. Looks like they skipped catch and pass drills this week.
5 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.
5 Go to commentsGreat win 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
1 Go to commentswel the crusaders were beaten by a queensland reds side that hadnt beaten them at home since 1999 and queensland reds partied like it was 1999
6 Go to commentsHard to disagree with the 5 points - with the exception that Wilson should be a squad member but, depending on the other loose forward selections, is not yet a shoo-in. McReight is. Aussie is looking a lot better this year and JS has some selection options. Also, Havili’s tendency to get caught, charged down is also a liability at times but he seemed focused (mostly) and is definitely a consideration for utility back-up. Still feel Reihana is a better prospect at 1st five for Saders.
6 Go to commentsYeah nah, still not sure on Havili tbh. Even though I’m a Crusaders fan through and through I’d be stunned if Razor considers him after seeing some of the stunning talent coming through up North.
6 Go to commentsThink it was a great defensive performance by Northampton. They didn't have stage fright in the first half, the Nienaber defense smothered them. They limited Leinster to 15-3 in the first half. It could have been over by then. A great try from Leinster in the start of the second half looked to have sealed it. But Byrne missed another conversion. Northampton started trying little kicks behind the Leinster wingers. Leinster messed one and Smith brilliantly made the conversion. Leinster decided to tighten the game after Byrne missed a straight forward penalty. A few errors got NH into the 22 and they scored and converted with a few minutes left. Another brilliant steal from Lawes saw NH have a final attack which was turned over by Conan. A classic semi final. World record attendance of 82,300. Leinsters 3 week preparation warranted for this one.
1 Go to commentsJust came back from the game and the atmosphere was amazing. Players stayed afterwards for more than a hour to sign stuff and take photos with fans. Great day out.
8 Go to comments