Charlotte Caslick has got the women’s side off to the perfect start as they take down China 31-7 to start the Perth SVNS at HBF Park
Meanwhile, it was a brutal finish for the men as they went down 31-26 in extra-time to Argentina, having come back from 19 points down in coach Liam Barry's first game in charge.
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Caslick scored the first two tries of the game as they picked apart a tough Chinese defence.
The two-time World Rugby Player of the Year then stopped China metres from the line to get the pilfer penalty, setting up Maddison Levi to run away for a 17-0 half-time lead.
The dominance continued after the break as Demi Hayes broke free to race down the sidelines.
Teagan Levi sealed the win as the Australians rested their guns for tonight’s Spain clash.
“We had a few girls who hadn’t started before so it was nice to get them on the field and get a feel for the start of the tournament, especially at home with friends and family here,” former captain Demi Hayes said.
“It’s pretty hot out here so we’re pleased with the win.”
Barry’s side nearly produced the epic comeback victory as they defied an almighty deficit to send the game into extra time.
The contest followed the same script as last year’s Final as Argentina took a 26-5 lead after the break.
The Australians refused to die wondering and it was their young stars that sparked the fightback as Ben Dowling broke through, eventually finding Sid Harvey as he raced 50 metres for his maiden try on the World Series.
It then took a couple of veterans to reduce the margin when Matt Gonzalez and Josh Turner combined, with Gonzalez winning the restart and Turner finding the Eastwood half for the try.
Turner’s quick tap led to a yellow card to Argentina, allowing James Turner to cross and Hayden Sargeant to send the game into extra-time.
In the end, they couldn’t contain Los Pumas from the long restart, with Tobias Wade scoring his second to silence the home crowd.
“It’s obviously disappointing but more positives than not,” Sargeant said post-match.
“Probably first half we had a few game jitters which we spoke about at half-time and I thought we executed it well in the second half.
“(The fightback) shows the true character of the team and a little bit of the potential that we still have to go.”
