GAME BY GAME: Australia Sevens Women claim Cape Town title, Men finish second

Sun, Dec 10, 2023, 1:29 PM
Nathan Williamson
by Nathan Williamson
The Sevens World Series heads to Cape Town. Photo: World Rugby
The Sevens World Series heads to Cape Town. Photo: World Rugby

The Australia Sevens sides head to Cape Town looking to impress in the second round of the SVNS World Series.

The Women were the team to beat after taking out the Dubai title, their fourth straight at the UAE venue.

Watch every round of the HSBC SVNS Series exclusive, ad-free and live on Stan Sport. 

They backed this up with a tough victory over France in the Final for their first title at the Cape Town event.

As for the Men, they couldn't continue their giant-killing tournament, going down to Argentina in the Final.

They started the day by upsetting Dubai champions South Africa in the quarter-finals, followed by defeating Fiji in the semi-finals.

Follow a recap of all the action, game by game below:
Australia Women 38 def Spain Women 0

*NOTE: The game will be shown on Rugby Pass TV

Australia has started their campaign with a 38-0 win over Spain.

Bienne Terita picked up where she left off in Dubai, racing down the sidelines for the opener.

Terita made it a second just before halftime, picking up the loose ball and sprinting away for a 12-0 lead.

Some great backline play put Faith Nathan over in the opening seconds of the second half before Maddison Levi crossed two minutes later.

Dom du Toit and Kaitlin Shave completed the win with late tries to seal the win.

Australia Men 27 def Samoa Men 7

Australia have started Cape Town on fire with a 27-7 win over defending champions Samoa.

Henry Palmer continued his breakout season, finishing off a Ben Dowling offload for the first try.

After some end to end action, Palmer added his second, followed over by Maurice Longbottom after the siren for a 15-0 lead.

Dietrich Roache added their fourth after the break.

Samoa tried to mount a comeback but Josh Turner sealed the win as they struck from the resulting kickoff.

Australia Women 54 def Japan 0

Australia have maintained their perfect start with a 54-0 win over Japan.

Bienne Terita added to her great weekend with her third try of the event to open the scoring.

Maddison Levi continued her extend her lead at the top of the try scorer table with a first half double to take a 26-0 lead.

Terita completed her hat trick after the second half, with Faith Nathan sealing the win with a double.

Teagan Levi brought up the half century with a brilliant solo effort from the kickoff to continue their unbeaten start

Australia Men 5 def by New Zealand Men 35

New Zealand have claimed a 35-5 win over Australia.

Moses Leo got the Kiwis on the board early as they looked to recover from their shock defeat to Canada with two quick tries.

It was all New Zealand in the first half as they took a 35-0 lead at the break.

Hayden Sargeant got the Aussies on the board but it was all New Zealand as they claimed the win

Australia Women 28 def Fiji Women 7

Australia secured top of Pool A with a 28-7 win over Fiji.

In a tense first half, Madison Ashby crossed the line before Maddison Levi scored to give the Aussies a 14-0 half-time lead.

Levi's second try secured the win, with Charlotte Caslick's try capping off a positive day for the Series leaders.

They will face Ireland in the quarter-finals after they fell to New Zealand.

Australia Men 26 v Canada Men 7

Australia have secured their place in the quarterfinals with a 26-7 win over Canada

Maurice Longbottom got the Aussies on the board after a tense start.

Nathan Lawson extended the lead, running a great line to put Australia up 14-0 at the break.

Josh Turner added to the lead after the break for the Aussies, before a smart play from the restart got Lawson over the line again to get the win.

Australia Women 24 def Ireland Women 14

Australia are into the semi-finals with a tough 24-14 win over Ireland.

A great set-play from the lineout created the space for Faith Nathan to cross untouched for the opener, her fourth of the weekend.

Maddi Levi then crossed for the 11th straight game after the Irish went down to six due to a high tackle.

However, Ireland refused to go away and pushed the Aussies before and after the break, only for Bienne Terita to calm the nerves and restore the lead.

Beibhinn Parsons’ double made the Aussies sweat the win, but Levi’s second sealed the victory.

However, there are concerns for Demi Hayes after a non-contact knee injury.

Australia Men 28 def South Africa Men 0

Australia have knocked out hosts South Africa 28-0 in a stunning performance to silence the home crowd.

John Manenti's side never gave them a chance as the Australians’ relenting pressure eventually delivered the desired result as Hayden Sargeant stepped back inside and scored the opener.

Nathan Lawson then made the hosts pay for missing touch, racing down the sidelines for a 14-0 half-time lead.

Some end-to-end action silenced the Cape Town crowd as Dietrich Roache finished it off under the posts.

Lawson’s second sealed the win and their place in the semi-finals.

Australia Women 33 def USA Women 5

Australia are into the Cape Town Final with a 33-5 win over the USA.

Charlotte Caslick got the Aussies on the board first as they wore down the American defence.

Caslick added her second just before the break, combining with Madison Ashby for a great switch play for the 14-0 lead at the break.

Ashby got one of her own after the break following some great interchange between the Levi sisters.

Bella Nasser sealed the win with a double in the final minutes for back-to-back finals

Australia Men 24 def Fiji Men 7

Australia have charged their way into the Final with a 24-7 win over Fiji.

Ben Dowling got creative with his running lines to split the gap and the referee for the opening try. The former Waratah turned provider, throwing the final offload for skipper Nick Malouf to score as the Aussies took a quick 12-0 lead.

As Fiji started to build momentum, Josh Turner produced an unbelievable try-saver to stop a certain try, maintaining their lead at half-time.

Fiji hit back after the break before a fortuitous bounce allowed the Aussies and Turner to counter for the instant response.

Nathan Lawson sealed the win shortly afterwards as the Aussies storm into the final against Argentina.

Australia Women 29 def France Women 26

Australia have claimed the Cape Town title with a rollercoaster 29-26 win over France.

They looked set to run away with the game after taking an early 22-0 lead.

However, a red card to Maddison Levi stunned the Dubai titles as France slowly mounted a charge.

It was rookie Kaitlin Shave who proved the hero, sprinting away to secure the win with a try two minutes before the siren.

Australia Men 12 def by Argentina Men 45

Australia has been outclassed in the Final as Argentina claimed the title with a 45-12 win.

They raced away with the game in the second half as Matías Osadczuk crossed for a double.

Trailing 28-0 at the break, tries to Nathan Lawson and Dietrich Roache gave the Australians hope.

Osadczuk and the Argentinians sealed the win with his second try, with two further in the final minutes capping off the dominant win

Australia Women’s Sevens team for Cape Town SVNS: 

2. Sharni Smale 

3. Faith Nathan 

4. Dominique Du Toit 

5. Teagan Levi 

6. Madison Ashby 

7. Charlotte Caslick (c) 

8. Kaitlin Shave

10. Bella Nasser

11. Demi Hayes

12. Maddison Levi

22. Bienne Terita

55. Alysia Lefau-Fakaosilea

65. Sariah Paki

Australia Men’s Sevens team for Cape Town SVNS: 

2. Ben Dowling 

3. Henry Palmer 

4. Dietrich Roache 

5. Tim Clements 

7. Josh Turner

8. Dally Bird

10. Nick Malouf (c)

11. Maurice Longbottom

12. Nathan Lawson

13. Ben Dalton

14. James Turner

15. James McGregor*

25. Hayden Sargeant

*Denotes potential debut. 

Australian Sevens Cape Town 2023 Schedule

*All times AEDT

Women

Saturday, December 9

Australia Women 38 def Spain Women 0, 6:22 pm 

Australia Women 54 def Japan Women 0, 8:44 pm

Sunday, December 10

Australia Women 28 def Fiji Women 7, 1:00 am

Australia Women 24 def Ireland Women 14, 6:22 pm - QUARTER FINAL

Australia Women 33 def USA Women 5, 11:12 pm - SEMI FINAL

Monday, December 11

Australia Women v France Women, 3:43 am - FINAL

Men

Saturday, December 9

Australia Men 27 def Samoa Men 7, 7:06 pm

Australia Men 5 def by New Zealand Men 35, 9:50 pm

Sunday, December 10

Australia Men 26 def Canada Men 7, 2:28 am

Australia Men 28 def South Africa Men 0, 8:18 pm - QUARTER FINAL

Monday, December 11

Australia Men 24 def Fiji Men 7, 12:18 am - SEMI FINAL

Australia Men v Argentina Men, 4:23 am - FINAL

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