Aussie women’s sevens team snare back-to-back titles
Australian superstar Maddison Levi was both hero and villain, scoring two tries but also being sent off as the women’s sevens team continued to fly the flag for the sport by taking out the Cape Town Sevens.
It was back-to-back titles for captain Charlotte Caslick and her team as the men’s side showed a marked lift by making the final, with former Wallabies captain Michael Hooper set to join the team for the next event in Perth.
Just a week after opening the season by taking out the Dubai crown, the women’s team won a gripping final against France 29-26 despite playing with six players when Levi was shown a red card for a dangerous shoulder-led tackle.
Levi, who on Saturday had become the quickest player to reach 100 tries in women’s world series matches, was the star again to that point, scoring twice in the 24-14 quarter-final win over Ireland and creating another in the 33-5 semi-final victory over USA.
Levi’s double in the final took her tournament-leading tally to nine tries, having scored 12 in the Dubai event, to frank her superstar status in a team that is proving hard to beta as they travel towards the Paris Olympics.
“It was just a really gutsy effort with just six players, super brave from the girls. I’m so proud of them,” said captain Caslick.
But it wasn’t all positive for the Aussies, with Demi Hayes suffering what could be a serious knee injury in the Ireland match.
“We obviously had Demi at the back of our minds out there, we’re hoping she gets a positive result from her scan later,” Caslick said.
Player of the final Madi Ashby said the wanted to “win it” for Hayes.
“Oh my god, it broke our hearts seeing her on the ground there, she’s one of our sisters. We wanted to win it for her,” she said.
Having finished seventh in a disappointing effort in Dubai, the men’s team fared much better, taking down South Africa 28-0 in the quarter-finals and then downing Olympic champs Fiji 24-7 with four tries in the semis.
But a first-half yellow card to captain Nick Malouf in the final hindered their chances before going down 45-12 to Argentina
The teams will next be in action in their home Perth tournament in six weeks when the men should have Hooper in their ranks.
SOURCE: NEWS.COM
