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Australia coach's immediate reaction to ‘fresh’ Perth SVNS draw
By Finn Morton
Live from the training field with the Australian women’s sevens side, coach Tim Walsh provided an immediate reaction to the Perth SVNS pool draw which was held on Thursday afternoon (AEDT).
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With just over two weeks until the third leg of the SVNS Series from January 26 to 28, the Aussies have learnt their fate after being drawn in Pool A along with Canada, Great Britain and South Africa.
While the women in gold will be full of confidence after a perfect start to the season in Dubai and Cape Town, these three teams are not to be taken lightly – and they’ll know that.
Canada, who placed ninth at the Tokyo Games, has a rapidly improving sevens program with the team now sitting equal on overall points with fourth-placed Fiji on the Series standings.
Are you ready for a party down under? 🦘🇦🇺
Here’s how it will go down in the pool stages of #HSBCSVNSPER! 🏉#HSBCSVNS pic.twitter.com/IzHAYv8Ufl— HSBC SVNS (@SVNSSeries) January 11, 2024
Great Britain is also capable of an upset or two with the likes of Jasmin Joyce and New Zealand-raised playmaker Isla Norman-Bell steering the team around the park.
But it’s South Africa who are especially intriguing. Having won the Challenger Series last year, the newly-promoted side poses an unknown threat to the Aussies. They almost beat the Black Ferns in Dubai and there’s no reason why South Africa can’t go the distance again.
Before returning to training with the SVNS Series leaders, coach Tim Walsh sounded excited about the challenge as the team prepares to run out in front of family, friends and fans in Perth.
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“We’re actually on field training now and I just announced it to the girls,” Walsh told reporters.
“It’s fresh. We haven’t played those teams in a while so we’re excited and we know how strong they are, particularly Canada, they’re a fastly improving team so they’re very much a team to watch out for.”
But the Aussies will be without one of their key players for the remainder of the season – and reportedly the Paris Olympics as well – after Demi Hayes picked up a serious injury in Cape Town.
Hayes has since had surgery on her ACL and is now looking ahead to what will unfortunately be a lengthy stint on the sidelines.
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But if the rapid rise of emerging talents including Teagan Levi, Kaitlin Shave and Bella Nasser is anything to go by, Australia has the depth to manage the loss of quality players.
“They’re good. They’ve had a nice break and refreshed but came back physically and mentally ready to go,” Walsh said.
“We’ve had a good week and a half training.
“We did unfortunately get an injury in Cape Town. Demi Hayes, she’ll be on the sideline for quite a while.
“Other than that we’re at good fitness and a really good group to be able to select a really strong team.”
Australia brought an end to New Zealand’s 41-game unbeaten streak when they defeated their Trans-Tasman foe in the Dubai SVNS final early last month.
With all the pressure and expectation that comes with being a Cup final winner, the Aussies thrived one week later as they went back-to-back with a win over France in the Cape Town decider.
But there’s no question that the Perth tournament will be another step up. 12 months ago in Sydney, the Aussie women fell short after losing to France in the quarter-finals.
They’ll want to make amends later this month by putting a smile on the faces of Australian rugby fans. You don’t want to miss it.
Tickets are on sale for the upcoming Perth SVNS at HBF Park and can be bought HERE.
