GAME BY GAME: Women claim title, Men finish seventh in SVNS Grand Final

Sun, Jun 2, 2024, 6:16 PM
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by LIVE
Tia Hinds converts after the buzzer to deliver a Grand Final spot at SVNS Madrid

The Australia Women's Sevens sides have claimed the inaugural SVNS title in the Grand Final in Madrid.

Captain Charlotte Caslick returned after their second-place finish in Singapore.

Catch every game of SVNS World Series LIVE, ad-free and on demand on Stan Sport.

They defeated France in the Final after a thrilling semi-final win over New Zealand.

As for the Men, they welcomeed back Matt Gonzalez and Josh Turner in their quest for the title.

They defeated Great Britain to finish seventh after going down to South Africa in the fifth-place semi-final.

Follow a recap of all the action, game by game below:
Australia Women 33 v Ireland Women 14

Australia have started Madrid strong with a tough 33-14 win over Ireland.

It was Teagan Levi who got the Aussies off to the perfect start, finishing off a break from the returning Bienne Terita.

Fellow returning star Charlotte Caslick then extended the lead with a try before the Irish levelled the scores at the break.

However, the yellow card to Stacey Flood proved pivotal as both teams traded opportunities.

The Australians hit twice with Ireland down to six, with Teagan’s second and Maddison Levi’s 57th and 58th try of the series securing the victory. 

Australia Men 5 v France Men 38

Australia has suffered a 38-5 defeat to France to leave their finals hopes hanging by a thread.

Jordan Sepho got a double as the French took a 19-0 lead into half-time.

From here, they continued their dominance to run in 38 unanswered points.

Hayden Sargeant got the Aussies on the board after the siren but it was all France in the one-sided win.

Australia Women 31 v Fiji Women 12

Australia are into the Madrid semi-finals thanks to a 31-12 win over Fiji.

Lavena Cavuru got the Aussies napping early to get Fiji on the board first.

However, this only awoke the Australians as Maddison Levi crossed for a first-half hat-trick, securing their place in the record books with the most tries in a world series season.

Charlotte Caslick’s second try of the weekend gave Tim Walsh’s side a 24-7 lead at the break.

Kaitlin Shave races away to seal the win midway through the second half.

Australia Women 28 v France Women 14

Australia has topped their group with a hard-fought 28-14 win over France.

Maddi Levi added her sixth try of the weekend to open the Australian’s account.

Anne-Cecile Ciofani answered back for the French, only for Levi to add her second and third within the space of three minutes.

Lou Nel reduced the margin to seven as France refused to give the Aussies any easy points.

In a physical second half, Levi broke the second half deadlock with her fourth, before some excellent scramble defence kept France at bay for the final minutes

Australia Men 19 v Great Britain Men 14

Australia have kept their title hopes alive with an after-the-siren 19-14 win over Great Britain.

Nick Malouf opened the scoring for the Aussies, only for two GB tries either side of the break to give them the lead.

With time running out, some great interchange between Dietrich Roache and Ben Dowling put Roache over the line with a minute to go, keeping his calm to level the scores.

With time expired, Dowling proved the hero as he got the pilfer before scoring in the corner for the win

Australia Men 5 v Argentina Men 14

Australia will face off for fifth after a 14-5 defeat to League Winners Argentina.

Needing victory to book their spot in the semi-final, captain Nick Malouf once again got Australia off to the perfect start with the opening try and the only try of the half.

A yellow card to Josh Turner opened the doors for Argentina to strike, with Santiago Alvarez giving them the two-point lead.

As both teams pressed for the decisive blow, Matteo Graziano was the man to break Australian hearts, slicing through with 90 seconds to go

Australia Men 21 v South Africa Men 24

Australia will battle for seventh after going down 24-21 to South Africa in the fifth-place semi-final.

Matt Gonzalez got the Aussies off to the perfect start as he dived over for the opener.

The South Africans instantly responded, scoring two tries via Rosko Specman and Ryan Oosthuizen in less than a minute for a five point lead at the half.

Ben Dowling got the Australians back in front right after the break, only to be instantly answered by Quewin Nortje.

Siviwe Soyizwapi sealed the win for the Blitzboks, before James Turner got a consolation try for John Manenti's side.

Australia Women 21 v New Zealand Women 19

Australia have produced a special 21-19 win over New Zealand in the Madrid semi-final.

It was a physical first half as both sides traded opportunities before Mahina Paul opened the scoring with two minutes left in the first half.

As the half-time siren sounded, Faith Nathan sprinted past the defence from a scrum to give Australia a two-point lead at the break.

The Kiwis hit right back as Risi Pouri-Lane finished off a great counter from Jorja Miller at the start of the second half.

Portia Woodman-Wichliffe extended the lead after some bruising play, with Nathan’s second giving Australia some hope with a minute left.

Australia got the restart and gave it out to their superstars, with Charlotte Caslick finding Maddison Levi for the tieing try.

Up stepped Tia Hinds, who kicked the winning conversion to get the Australians into the Madrid Final

Australia Men 21 v Great Britain Men 0

Australia will finish Madrid in seventh after a 21-0 win over Great Britain.

James Turner raced away for the opener after 40 seconds to get the Australians in front early.

It proved to be the only score of the half as both teams traded attacking opportunities with no success.

Turner almost crossed for his second after the break, only to drop the ball in the corner and appear to hurt his shoulder in the process.

A great chip and chase from Hayden Sargeant extended Australia’s lead, with Nathan Lawson securing the win with just under 90 seconds to go

Australia Women 26 v France Women 7

Australia are SVNS champions after a fierce 26-7 win over France.

It was a tense opening half as Faith Nathan got the Aussies on the board first before the French hit back before the break.

However, the game opened up in the second half for the Australians as they ran away with it thanks to a Maddison Levi hat-trick.

Levi scored three within the space of four minutes to seal the victory and the overall title for the Aussies, their first piece of silverware for the season.

Australia Women’s Sevens team for HSBC SVNS 2024 Grand Final:

3. Faith Nathan

4. Dominique Du Toit

5. Teagan Levi

7. Charlotte Caslick (c)

8. Kaitlin Shave

9. Tia Hinds

10. Bella Nasser

12. Maddison Levi

14. Bridget Clark

22. Bienne Terita

23. Ruby Nicholas

65. Sariah Paki

98. Sidney Taylor

Australia Men’s Sevens team for HSBC SVNS 2024 Grand Final:

1. Henry Hutchison

2. Ben Dowling

4. Dietrich Roache

5. Tim Clements

6. Henry Paterson

7. Josh Turner

8. Dally Bird

9. Matt Gonzalez

10. Nick Malouf (c)

12. Nathan Lawson

14. James Turner

25. Hayden Sargeant

87. Michael Icely

HSBC SVNS GRAND FINAL MADRID – AUSTRALIA WOMEN

Pool Championship B

Friday, May 31

Australia 33 def Ireland 14 - 9:51pm (AEST)

Saturday, June 1

Australia 31 def Fiji 12 - 8:22pm (AEST)

Australia 28 def France 14 - 11:27pm (AEST)

Australia 21 def New Zealand 19 - 7:33 pm - SEMI FINAL

Sunday, June 2

Australia v France - 3:49 am - FINAL

HSBC SVNS GRAND FINAL MADRID – AUSTRALIA MEN

Pool Championship A

Saturday, June 1

Australia 5 def by France 38 - 3:05am (AEST)

Sunday, June 2

Australia 19 def Great Britain 14 - 1:27am (AEST)

Australia 5 def by Argentina 14 - 5:17am (AEST)

Australia 21 def by South Africa 24 - 7:11 pm - FIFTH PLACE SEMI FINAL

Australia v Great Britain - 10:05 pm - SEVENTH PLACE FINAL

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