Aussie 7s Women Soar Through to Quarter Finals at HSBC Sydney 7s
The Qantas Australian Women’s Sevens team have qualified for the Quarter Finals with three wins from three at the HSBC Sydney 7s on Friday. The tournament is the first-time Australia’s Golden Girls have played at a World Rugby Series event on home soil.
Australia overcame Brazil, Ireland and Fiji to book a place in the Quarter-Final against Fiji in a rematch of their thrilling final Pool B match on day one. The rematch between the two sides will kick off on Kippax Field at 10.44am AEDT.
Australia started the day slowly but built into impressive form for the home fans with Emilee Cherry and Ellia Green scoring three tries a piece.
Qantas Australian Women’s Sevens Co-Captain Shannon Parry said: “We won three from three and topped our pool so we’re looking forward to our Quarter Final clash tomorrow.
“Every time we play in front of family and friends, it’s special. We had a good turnout today and there was obviously some nerves there but I think the girls handled it well.
“We are a team that when we are behind the eight ball we just keep playing footy. We keep having fun and throwing the ball around.
“We are not team that goes into our shells and plays one off the ruck. I think it got a bit tight but I’m proud of the girl’s performance to put together a clinical display and get the job done in the end.”
Australia 24 defeated Brazil 7
The Qantas Australian Women’s Sevens team began their first ever HSBC Sydney 7s campaign in impressive fashion, with Ellia Green crossing for the first try after overcoming the spirited defence from Brazil. With home ground nerves clearly expelled, Charlotte Caslick broke through again for Australia to take the score to 12-0. Brazil’s Bianca Silva showed off her soccer skills kicking the ball several times to run over the half the length of the field to score on half-time, reducing the gap to 12-7.
Brazil’s defence continued to ask questions of Australia in the second half, but the experience of the Australian women shone through. Mahalia Murphy added two tries to give Australia a 24-7 victory.
Australia 24 defeated Ireland 0
The Aussie 7s asserted their intentions early with a try to Emilee Cherry. A physical Ireland put pressure on the Aussie women but the second try to young gun Queenslander, Georgia Friedrichs extended the lead to 10-0. A piece of individual brilliance by Emilee Cherry on the cusp of half-time added more pain for Ireland with Cherry kicking through the defence twice to set up her own try. Australia led 15-0 at the break.
Australia started the second half strongly but a committed Ireland defence was determined to keep the hosts at bay. Pelite eventually broke the shackles with a runaway try after a selfless offload from Co-Captain Shannon Parry. A final try to the speedster, Ellia Green was the icing on the cake for Australia who took the match 27-0 to guarantee a place in the Quarter-Finals.
Australia 26 defeated Fiji 17
The flying Fijians were the first team on the scoreboard with Tima Ravisa flying down the field to take the visitors to an early 0-5 lead. Chloe Dalton brought the match back to parity with a great step off her right foot to open a gap and score under the posts and converted her own try to give Australia a 7-5 lead. A fabulous exchange of running Rugby followed as both teams tested the other’s defence. A late try to Emilee Cherry took the score to 14-5 but Fiji was not to be outdone, scoring a try in extra time in the corner to close the gap to 14-10 at the interval.
With both teams hammering each other across the park, the first points of the second half came from Fiji who scored under the posts to take a 14-17 lead with four minutes to spare. Australia was made to fight to regain the lead, which came when Evania Pelite scored underneath the posts. A final try to a leaping Ellia Green secured victory for the women in gold.
HSBC Sydney 7s Women’s Day One Results:
Australia 24-7 Brazil
Australia 24-0 Ireland
Australia 26-17 Fiji
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