GAME BY GAME: Women claim Dubai title as Men fall in quarter-finals

Sun, Dec 4, 2022, 12:09 AM
LIVE Rugby Australia
by LIVE Rugby Australia
The Aussie 7s are London 7s champions after taking out an epic final in London.

The Australian Sevens sides will continue their title defence as they head to Dubai.

The Women claimed their third straight title in Dubai as they defeated New Zealand 26-19 in the Final.

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They opened their tournament against China with a 36-7 victory before convincing wins over Canada (33-0) and the USA (29-12) as they look for their third straight title.

This was backed up by a 38-21 win over Fiji to book their space in the final four before defeating France 38-5.

Meanwhile, the Men fell in the quarter-finals to the USA following a mixed day one.

They started with a 19-all draw against Kenya (6:56 pm) before bouncing back with a 28-19 win over Great Britain (10:42 pm), finishing their day with a 19-12 defeat to South Africa as they qualified for the knock-out stages on points difference

Follow a recap of all the action, game by game below:
Australia Women 36 v China Women 7

Australia have become the first women’s team to win 50 games in Dubai, defying a slow start to claim a 36-7 win over China 

After a competitive start, Madison Ashby opened the scoring as she burst away from inside her own half.

Charlotte Caslick then set up Faith Nathan for their second before Bienne Terita continued her red-hot form to give Australia the 17-0 lead at the break.

China put up a considerable fight and responded via Yan Meiling before Rookie of the Year Madison Levi burst away to restore the advantage.

Dom Du Toit and Terita’s second put the game out of reach for the defending champions to secure the win.

Australia Men 19 v Kenya Men 19

Australia have tied with Kenya 19-all to kick off their Dubai campaign.

In typical fashion, the Hong Kong champions had to work their way from 14-0 down thanks to tries to Herman Humwa and illy Odhiarmo.

Josh Turner scored just before the break, followed over by Henry Paterson after he took a great intercept to run 50 metres to level it up.

Willy Ambaka proceeded to restore the advantage for Kenya as he burst down the sideline before Maurice Longbottom produced some magic with seconds remaining, dancing through the defence.

Longbottom failed to convert his try, with one final attack from the Aussies coming up unsuccessful.

Australia Women 33 v Canada Women 0

Australia have produced an impressive display of Rugby to cruise to a 33-0 win over Canada.

Some brutal scrummaging looked to have sealed Australia’s first try via Alysia Lefau-Fakaosilea, only to be brought back for a forward pass.

Madison Ashby count be denied seconds later, winning the race to her own chip and chase as she appeared to be winded in the process.

Madison Levi extended the lead with her 31st try in her last 22 games just before the break.

Sharni Williams made an impact after being rested for the opening game, finishing off a lung-burning team try to put the game out of reach.

Levi’s second and some individual brilliance from Tia Hinds sealed the convincing win 

Australia Men 28 v Great Britain Men 19

Australia have bounced back from their opening match draw with a 28-19 victory over Great Britain

Maurice Longbottom picked up from where he left off against Kenya, darting over the line in the first minute 

In a tense first half, Femi Sofolarin stepped and sprinted away to score in the corner, levelling it up before the break.

However, the Australians refused to panic and eventually put rookie Kye Oates over in the corner to take a 14-7 lead.

Oates then turned provider, finding Henry Hutchison with a cross kick as he stepped and dived over the line.

Nathan Lawson sealed the win with two minutes to go despite two late tries to Great Britain.

Australia Women 29 v USA Women 12

A stunning performance from Maddison Levi has powered Australia to a 29-12 win over the USA.

A bizarre set of scenes allowed the USA to open the scoring, with Charlotte Caslick’s clearing kick falconing her teammate before Alena Olsen dived on the loose ball over the line

Maddison Levi had an instant answer for the Aussies as she gunned past her opposite number on the sidelines.

Levi added her fifth and sixth try of the tournament before the break to give Australia the lead.

Madison Ashby continued her strong tournament with her third try of Dubai as play resumed.

Levi’s fourth sealed the win and top spot in Pool A as she unleashed another trademark bursting run.

Australia Men 12 v South Africa Men 19

Australia have qualified for the knockout stages despite going down 19-12 to South Africa

The Aussies got off to a nightmare start when Dietrich Roache was yellow carded for a neck roll, followed off by Nathan Lawson for a high shot.

This allowed Siviwe Soyizwapi and JC Pretorius to score two quick tries as the Blitzboks raced away with the match.

Nathan Lawson reduced the margin after the siren, sprinting away from the defence for a much-needed try.

Australia then re-collected the kick off, falling into the arms of Maurice Longbottom as the speedster raced away.

Both sides hunted for the winner as they kept up the frenetic pace for the full 14 minutes.

Dalvon Blood came up with the match-winner, sprinting home to keep South Africa in the event as Australia scrape through to the knock-out stages on points difference

Australia Women 38 v Fiji Women 21

Australia have overcome a slow start to defeat Fiji 38-21 in the quarter-finals.

Some great counter rucking from the world champions put Sharni Williams into space, finding Maddison Levi for yet another try.

Fiji responded via Reapi Ulunisau and Alowesi Nakoci, scoring twice in the space of 90 seconds.

Williams showed her experience to back up a break from Faith Nathan to start the fightback before Charlotte Caslick crossed before the siren to put the Australians back in front.

In a scrappy second half, the stop-and-go from Nathan provided just enough space to beat her defender to push the advantage beyond a converted try.

Madison Ashby’s tenacity at the breakdown set up Nathan’s second as Levi's second put the game out of reach as they face France in the semi-finals.

Australia Men 19 v USA Men 24

Australia have been eliminated in the quarter-finals after going down 24-19 to the USA.

Perry Baker lit up the game as he drew the defender to put Steve Tomasin over the line to open the scoring.

The Americans continued their dominance as David Still stretched out and scored to extend the lead to 12-0.

Maurice Longbottom made good use of Australia's first entry into the opposition half as he raced away to reduce the margin, only for Marcus Tupuola to restore the lead.

Longbottom snipped down the short side for his second after the break, followed over by Dietrich Roache to put the Aussies in front for the first time in the game.

With the game on the line, Baker produced some magic to send the USA into the semi-finals, stepping and weaving past the defence to score under the posts

Australia Men 15 v 28 Argentina Men

Australia will finish Dubai in seventh position after falling to Argentina 28-15

Australia started strong as Nathan Lawson crossed for a quick fire double inside the first three minutes

Argentina hit back almost instantly as they snuck down the short side 

Rodrigo Isgro got Argentina in front at the break after charging through the defence.

A great ball from Henry Paterson put Dietrich Roache over in the corner.

The deciding moment came with two minutes to go when Matt Gonzalez was pinged for a high tackle in a scoring opportunity, yellow carded as the ref awarded a penalty try.

One final attempt from the Aussies was denied by some great Argentina defence, running the length of the field to seal the win.

Australia Women 38 v France Women 5

Australia have booked their place in the final with a 38-5 win over France.

Maddison Levi continued her incredible tournament, crossing for her tenth try as the Australians caught France off-guard early on.

The French had an instant answer via Camille Grassineau, however Alysia Lefau-Fakaosilea got the world champions back in front after some great awareness from Charlotte Caslick.

Faith Nathan produced a powerful fend to extend the lead before half-time, with Nathan re-gathering a kick from her own line to put Caslick over the line as the Australians looked to send a message.

Nathan’s second sealed the victory for Tim Walsh’s side, booking yet another chapter in the New Zealand rivalry after they comfortably defeated the USA in the other semi-final.

Australia Women 26 v New Zealand Women 19

Australia has claimed the Dubai title with a 26-19 victory over New Zealand in the Final.

The defending champions got off to the perfect start when Sharni Williams capitalised from an early Sariah Paki break to open the scoring.

Legendary Black Fern Michaela Blyde sparked the Kiwis early with a quick-fire double, with a solo effort to Faith Nathan giving the Aussies a two-point lead at the break.

From here, leading try-scorer Maddison Levi did what she does best, scoring in the corner to break the record for most tries in a single tournament in Dubai.

Charlotte Caslick and Demi Hayes combined to put the game out of reach despite Blyde's third try of the match.

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