Qantas Australian Women’s Sevens win Oceania 7s Championship

Nov 14 • General News, International, Sevens Rugby • 1683 Views • Comments Off on Qantas Australian Women’s Sevens win Oceania 7s Championship

The Qantas Australian Women’s Sevens team has won the 2016 Oceania 7s Women’s Championship in Fiji on Saturday, defeating the hosts in the Final 31-0. The Aussie 7s Men’s team finished the men’s Cup in third position defeating Papua New Guinea 25-5.

The Aussie Women shot out to an early lead against Fiji with Australia pressuring Fijians in both attack and defense, preventing Fiji from escaping their own half. Co-Captains Shannon Parry and Sharni Williams led from the front with strong performances.

Qantas Australian Women’s Head Coach, Tim Walsh: “I am really happy with the performance we put out this tournament.

“We had different experience levels in the squad with the players who were in Rio and the players doing their Rugby apprenticeships.

“Our debutants were outstanding! Emma Sykes, Hannah Southwell, and Shanice Parker played exceptionally well and improved on every game.

“This tournament couldn’t have been better preparation for us; it was amazingly run and the standard was very strong. Heading into the Dubai 7s we have some selection headaches but that is only going to make us stronger.”

In the third-place play-off in the Men’s Championship Australia finished the tournament strongly, defeating Papua New Guinea 25-5 after falling to tournament hosts Fiji in the Semi Final 7-19.

Qantas Australian Men’s Head Coach Andy Friend: “I was really happy with that last performance. We were better today than we were yesterday. With a new squad, you want to keep improving on every performance.

“I thought our defense against Fiji was a big improvement. However, we were not as clinical as we needed to be with the football.
“We are happy to be on the podium but wish it could have been higher.

“On the whole, I thought we showed good character as a squad and it gives some good momentum moving forward.”

The Qantas Australian Men’s and Women’s Squads will kick start their HSBC Sevens World Series campaigns in Dubai from December 1 for the Dubai 7s tournament.

2016 Oceania 7s Results – Day 2
Qantas Australian Women’s Sevens:
Australia 39-0 Papua New Guinea
Australia 46-0 Samoa
Australia 31-0 Fiji (Final)

Qantas Australian Men’s Sevens:
Australia 7-19 Fiji
Australia 25-5 Papua New Guinea (Third place play-off)