It was far from pretty, but Australia’s women have progressed through to the fifth-placed final of the Sydney Sevens on Sunday afternoon at Allianz Stadium.
After suffering a shock, deflating 10-5 defeat to France on Saturday evening, the Triple Crown holders were too good for Great Britain on Sunday morning, winning 19-0. Tim Walsh’s side will now take on Fiji for fifth place at 5:22pm AEDT.
When Bienne Terita scored inside the opening minute it looked like the home side would break the shackles that frustrated them against France during their quarter-final defeat.
Faith Nathan’s linebreak shortly after reinforced that thought, but the outside back lost the ball on the ground after being ankle-tapped.
From that point on it was a grind for the home side, who went into the break with just a seven-point lead.
A trysaver from Maddison Levi to start the second half was a piece of individual brilliance, but poor handling stifled the home side.
Charlotte Caslick, who a night earlier was controversially shown a yellow card, did it all her self to score Australia’s second try of the morning in the 11th minute. The five-pointer was her 141st on the World Series tournament, bringing her level with Australia’s record holder Ellia Green.
Sariah Paki then broke the line to score Australia’s third try of the match.
Sariah Paki scored Australia’s third try against Great Britain during their fifth-placed semi-final win at Allianz Stadium on January 29, 2023 in Sydney. Photo: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images
Walsh, who described their quarter-final defeat less than 24 hours earlier as “horrible”, didn’t mince his words when describing the performance.
“No (it wasn’t pleasing). I don’t think we performed that well at all,” Walsh said.
“I think we defended well but we couldn’t hold onto the ball. We could’ve put 40 on them.
“It was a little bit disappointing but they got the win and put in the effort.”
Australia’s men will play Samoa in a fifth-placed semi-final against Samoa at 2:06pm AEDT.
While Australia have missed out on the medal matches, every World Series point is vital with only the top four from this year’s season to qualify automatically for next year’s Olympics in Paris.
More to come…
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