Levi produces double ‘don’t argue’ at Perth Sevens
Justin Chadwick |
Maddison Levi has displayed her brute strength and speed to fire the Australian women’s team into the Perth Sevens final.
But the Australian men will have to settle for bronze at best after being on the wrong end of a controversial yellow card in a 28-12 semi-final loss to South Africa on Sunday.
Levi scored the first and last tries as Australia posted a 26-5 semi-final win over the US in 34-degree heat at HBF Park.
The victory set up a blockbuster final against New Zealand, who thumped Australia 36-7 in the Singapore Sevens decider a week earlier.
Australia have been stewing on that loss for the past seven days, and now have a chance to gain sweet revenge against their arch rivals.
NZ booked their ticket to the final with a 34-14 win over France.
Levi missed Australia’s gold-medal triumph at last year’s Perth Sevens after fracturing her thumb in a quarter-final win over Japan.
The 23-year-old was an unstoppable force against the US in Sunday’s semi-final, with her first try a thing of magic.
After collecting a pass inside her own 22m, Levi used her left hand to fend off an opponent, then immediately switched the ball so she could use her right hand to fend off another opponent before making a long sprint to the line.
The US briefly threatened Australia in the second half, but Levi killed off that resistance with a trademark running try along the wing.
The result means Australia are a perfect four-from-four at this year’s Perth Sevens, but they face a big test against NZ, who were a dominant force last week in Singapore.
“Pretty much play rugby,” Levi said when asked about the key to turning around that Singapore result.
“I think we stood on the field more than we played last week.
“There is so much we can take out of losing. We’ve been working on it, we’ve been building. Even this tournament, we haven’t had our best game yet.
“So to be able to pull off wins and play as a team, we’re only going to get better, and we’re excited for the final.”
Australia co-captain Madison Ashby is no certainty to play in the decider after going off for a head injury assessment during the semi-final win.
The Australian men will take on NZ in the bronze medal play-off after falling to South Africa.
Australia had closed to within two points of South Africa early in the second half before Aden Ekanayake was handed a controversial yellow card.
The referee deemed Ekanayake had pulled down an opponent while they were being lifted, but replays showed the Australian likely missed making any contact.
South Africa scored a crucial try while Ekanayake was serving his two minutes on the bench, with Australia unable to work their way back into the contest after that.
South Africa will face off against Fiji in the decider.
Fiji won the Singapore Sevens last week, and showed they are a force to be reckoned with by thrashing six-man NZ 35-0 in Sunday’s semi-final.
AAP
