Aussie Sevens dominant on day one of Oceania 7s
The Qantas Australian Women’s Sevens team has enjoyed a perfect start on their day one of the Oceania7s Championship winning all three of their matches at ANZ Stadium in Fiji on Friday. The Australian’s Men’s team were victorious in three of their four clashes, falling at the final hurdle to a strong Samoan outfit.
Australia’s debutants impressed in their first outing with Emma Sykes, Shanice Parker and Hannah Southwell having strong performances across the day. The Australian men were left to rue losing tournament Captain John Porch to a fractured leg, that will sideline the young speedster for an extended period.
The Aussie Women’s side only allowed one try to be scored against them in their three matches and amassed 142 points themselves in accounting for the Solomon Islands, Cook Islands, and Tonga.
The young Aussie Men’s team outgunned the Solomon Islands and New Caledonia in the first two matches. In a tighter affair, Australia was able to emerge victorious against Cook Islands 12-7. Australia was outplayed in the final match, falling to Samoa 5-24 to round out the day.
Qantas Australian Women’s Head Coach Tim Walsh: “It was good to be back out there in international competition. The Rio girls really showed their world class standard and showed the younger girls how it’s done.
“There was a fair bit achieved out of today, but obviously, the bigger challenge is tomorrow. By the way, it is standing it will be an Australia-Fiji final game.
“Looking at them today, they were at their best so it’s going to be an awesome test for everybody.”
Qantas Australian Men’s Head Coach, Andy Friend: “I thought today was good in many ways. It challenged us and that’s why we are here. We played four games in one day, which never happens on the World Series.
“We put some really good Rugby together but at the same time, we struggled a bit at times.
“It was a big disappointment losing John Porch in the third minute of the tournament. Losing him was a huge blow and it looks like he’ll be out for a few months.
“We were disappointed with that last game against Samoa. We let ourselves down in a number of areas and they capitalized on our mistakes.
“One of the reasons we are here is to expose these young players to the best opposition and see how they respond. We have a lot of desire within the group and we’ll have a real shot at it tomorrow.”
2016 Oceania 7s Results – Day 1
Qantas Australian Women’s Sevens:
Australia 54-0 Solomon Islands
Australia 43-0 Cook Islands
Australia 45-5 Tonga
Australian Men’s Sevens:
Australia 12-7 Cook Islands
Australia 43-0 Solomon Islands
Australia 57-5 New Caledonia
Australia 5-24 Samoa
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