Australia brace for brutal SVNS battles against rivals in Vancouver

Australia’s journey to the Men’s Cup final at SVNS Perth last month was anything but smooth sailing. After being drawn into a pool of death at their home tournament, the Aussies had to overcome fierce opposition to even make the knockout rounds at all.

With one win from three starts, which included losses to eventual semi-finalists South Africa and champions Argentina, Australia scraped through to the quarters after finishing third in Pool A, but that didn’t deter the men in gold who claimed revenge en route to the big dance.

Teenager Aden Ekanayake dove over for a semi-final match-winner against South Africa’s Blitzboks during an all-time classic extra-time thriller. While the Aussies went on to lose a one-sided decider 41-5 to Argentina, there’s still a lot they can take out of the event.

It doesn’t get any easier for Australia at SVNS Vancouver which starts on February 21, with the men in gold drawn in another tough pool against New Zealand, Ireland and familiar foe South Africa. To make the knockouts at BC Place, the Aussies will have to be at their best once again.

“I think at Perth we also had a pretty tough pool,” Ekanayake told RugbyPass before SVNS Vancouver. “I think three of the four semi-finalists came out of our pool in Perth so that was a good test over there, and I imagine it’ll be exactly the same over here.

“All those teams, quality outfits.

“Each game we’ve got to take them as they come, don’t take anyone lightly and hopefully we come out with a few wins.”

For a 19-year-old playing at a home event, what happened in the semi-finals at Perth’s HBF Park was the stuff of sporting fairytales for Ekanayake. With South Africa’s Ryan Oosthuizen in the sin bin, the young Aussie was the hero in a dramatic golden point thriller.

Ekanayake had taken the restart off the initial kick-off, with the Aussies dominating possession before Oosthuizen was shown a yellow card. After marching closer to the try line and then spreading the ball wide right, Ekanayake had enough space and time to score.

On Australia Day, thousands let out a deafening cheer as Australian fans and players alike celebrated the sensational win. While that result and event are now in the history books, the Aussies are feeling confident before Vancouver and their rematch of sorts with the Boks.

“It’s definitely given me, especially, and the team a lot of belief that we can actually stick it to the best teams on the circuit,” Ekanayake reflected.

“In Cape Town and Dubai, we hadn’t really had [coach Liam Barry] for long enough for him to put his mark on the team and bring in his ideas.

“Going into Perth, obviously, everyone’s a bit sceptical, I definitely was, but definitely everyone got some serious belief after that.

“Hopefully that translates into another good performance in Vancouver.”

Ekanayake has, of course, been included in Australia’s squad for SVNS Vancouver alongside the likes of Henry Hutchison, Hayden Sargeant and James Turner who have all overcome injuries which saw the trio miss the SVNS Perth decider.

But the big talking point for coach Liam Barry’s team is the return of co-captain Henry Paterson who was “our best player” at the Dubai Sevens in December. Paterson received the prestigious Shawn MacKay Medal in 2023 which recognises Australia’s best sevens player.

“He’s going to be absolutely unreal,” he added.

“He was seriously good, probably our best player in Dubai and in Cape Town when he played.

“Having him come back really boots our belief and how we play and our standards as well.”

Australia starts their three-day pursuit for title glory in Vancouver with an intriguing Pool B clash with Ireland at 7:24 am AEDT on Saturday morning. The Aussies will take on traditional rivals New Zealand at 12:51 pm later that day before facing South Africa on Sunday morning AEDT.

The men’s and women’s winners will be crowned around midday on Monday, with the Men’s Cup final taking place before the women’s decider, just as it did in Perth – which was the first time that’d happened on the HSBC SVNS Series.