Levi, Paki boost Australians as Sevens squads named for prestigious Hong Kong event

Thu, Mar 20, 2025, 6:00 AM
Nathan Williamson
by Nathan Williamson

World Rugby Player of the Year Maddison Levi and Sariah Paki have been named to return for next week's Hong Kong SVNS event from March 28.

Levi has been cleared to return after breaking her thumb during Australia's title-winning weekend in Perth.

Watch every match of the SVNS World Series live and on-demand, exclusively on Stan Sport.

Meanwhile, Paki has not featured in 2025 after picking up a calf injury right before the Perth event.

Queensland product Amahli Hala will become the fifth debutant used by coach Tim Walsh this season after a breakout campaign in the Next Gen Series in October.

Their inclusion comes with Demi Hayes (hand) and Heidi Dennis (knee) out for the back-to-back legs in Hong Kong and Singapore.

Bienne Terita will also be unavailable for the rest of the Series as she joins Charlotte Caslick in switching her focus for the 15s.

Terita is expected to be available for the ACT Brumbies from next week, looking to become a two-time World Cup participant.

"A revamped Hong Kong Sevens awaits us with a new stadium, and another iconic location," coach Tim Walsh said.

"We are fielding our youngest team in our history, our least number of total caps since 2015 (the world series began in 2012) and have had our most disruptive preparation ever.

"A perfect storm for an Aussie Sevens performance demonstrating character and resilience. 

"As we are heading into China we are embracing ancient Chinese wisdom to prepare ourselves for the challenges ahead. ‘True Gold does not fear the flame’ is our mantra."

Comparatively, the Men's side are significantly more settled, with just one change to the team.

Hadley Tonga comes into the side, with Michael Icely out with a knee injury.

"Hong Kong is the original and legacy event and in a new stadium under the roof on day one we’re pumped for the occasion," coach Liam Barry said.

"Some of the players were quite crook in Vancouver, we had a few boys get off their beds to play so it was a fair effort and I thought we played better in Vancouver than we did in Perth.

"We want to maintain our position on the standings, move forward and keep improving in areas we have done so throughout the season."

The Aussie Men have been drawn into Pool B with matches against New Zealand, South Africa and Uruguay whilst the Women meet Spain, Japan and Canada in Pool C.

Australia Women’s Sevens team for HSBC SVNS Hong Kong:

1. Piper Simons

2. Amahli Hala*

3. Faith Nathan

4. Mackenzie Davis

5. Teagan Levi

9. Tia Hinds

10. Isabella Nasser (c)

12. Maddison Levi

14. Bridget Clark

15. Kahli Henwood

23. Ruby Nicholas

28. Kiiahla Duff

65. Sariah Paki

*denotes debut

Australia Men’s Sevens team for HSBC SVNS Hong Kong:

1. Henry Hutchison (c)

2. Ben Dowling

6. Henry Paterson (c)

9. Matt Gonzalez

10. Ben Dalton

11. Maurice Longbottom

13. Jayden Blake

14. James Turner

15. Sid Harvey

23. Aden Ekanayake

25. Hayden Sargeant

29. Josh Turner

71. Hadley Tonga

Unavailable for selection due to injury

AUSTRALIA WOMEN

Heidi Dennis (knee) – Los Angeles 7s

Demi Hayes (hand) – Los Angeles 7s

Madison Ashby (knee) – 2025/2026 World Series

Kaitlin Shave (knee) – 2025/2026 World Series

Sidney Taylor (knee) – 2025/2026 World Series

Alysia Lefau-Fakaosilea (knee) - 2025/2026 World Series

AUSTRALIA MEN

Michael Icely (knee) – Los Angeles 7s

Dietrich Roache (knee) – 2025/2026 World Series

HSBC SVNS 2024/2025 HONG KONG SCHEDULE

AUSTRALIA WOMEN - POOL C

  • Friday, March 28: Australia v Spain – 1:53pm AEDT
  • Friday, March 28: Australia v Canada – 4:57pm AEDT
  • Saturday, March 29: Australia v Japan – 12:53pm AEDT

AUSTRALIA MEN - POOL B

  • Friday, March 28: Australia v New Zealand – 8:30pm AEDT
  • Friday, March 28: Australia v South Africa – 11:39pm AEDT
  • Saturday, March 29: Australia v Uruguay – 4:20pm AEDT

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