Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
AAP
AAP
Sport
Adrian Warren

Aussies unbeaten at Sydney Sevens

Maddison Levi scores one of her four tries for Australia in the win over Spain at the Sydney Sevens. (Steven Markham/AAP PHOTOS) (AAP)

Maddison Levi bagged four tries as Australia's women rounded off a good opening day for the host nation in rugby's Sydney Sevens by smashing Spain 46-0.

The emphatic victory followed a 28-12 victory over Brazil earlier on Friday and secured a quarter-final berth.

They will play their final pool match on Saturday against Ireland, who also have two wins, scraping past Spain 14-12 and beating Brazil 26-12.

The men contributed to an unbeaten day for Australia at Allianz Stadium by squeezing out a 12-7 win over Great Britain 12-7 in their only pool game on Friday.

Coaches and players from both Australian teams felt the emotion and excitement of playing their first World Series tournament at home in almost three years possibly impacted on their performance in their first games.

The women's team moved up a gear in the last game of the day, racking up eight tries against Spain despite rain lashing the new venue for a good portion of the match.

Australia had pace to burn out wide through Levi and Faith Nathan, who bagged a double, taking her career tally in the Series past 50.

Tries to Madison Ashby and Nathan, when Spain were down a player for a deliberate knockdown, set up an early 12-0 lead.

Levi raced away for another five-pointer just before the break to give Australia a 17-0 halftime advantage.

The 20-year-old flyer added three more five-pointers after the break with Nathan and veteran playmaker Charlotte Caslick also crossing.

"I guess the beauty of it is I have such a good team that I play alongside and they set me up, so they make my job look easy," Levi said.

"We've learnt from Cape Town, there was a massive downpour and we didn't adapt to the conditions, so we've been working really hard about composing ourselves.

"Winning two games today is pretty good but it doesn't mean the work is over.

"We've got a massive game in the morning against Ireland and then into the finals."

Other women's teams to win twice on Friday were Great Britain and New Zealand.

For the Australian men's team, Henry Paterson notched the decisive score early in the second half against Great Britain and the error-prone home team protected their lead with some good defensive plays.

"While it might not have been the prettiest game, we sure had the desire and that is something thing you can build off and win a tourney with," Paterson said.

The Australian men will play Canada and Argentina on Saturday.

Argentina, the winner of last week's tournament in Hamilton, came from 14 points down inside the last two minutes to score three quick tries and beat Canada 24-19.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.