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‘Clearly a little issue’: Maddison Levi sent off for second time this season
By Finn Morton
Women’s sevens coach Tim Walsh joked that his team should be called the “Aussie sixes” after youngster Tagan Levi was sent off during the loss to Great Britain on Friday night.
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It was Australia’s third red card in as many tournaments. Alysia Lefau-Fakaosilea saw red during the Dubai SVNS last month, and Maddison Levi was sent off during the Cape Town SVNS final.
But there was another on the way. Less than 24 hours after Teagan Levi’s high shot on Englishwomen Emma Uren, older sister Maddison was dealt a similar fate.
Maddison Levi, who is widely considered one of the world’s best players, returned to the Australian sevens line-up on Saturday after serving a three-game suspension.
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Levi, 21, struggled to get into the action during a chaotic first half against New Zealand in the Perth SVNS quarter-finals. Then, almost out of nowhere, it happened again.
Referee Craig Chan blew his whistle and went upstairs. Levi was deemed to have hit a Black Ferns Sevens player high and was sent from the field. Understandably, Levi was upset.
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Australia held on for a thrilling 24-14 win in Levi’s absence, though, but it was clear the try-scoring phenom was still hurting badly as she walked up the tunnel after the match.
“A little bit of elation. Six on six, we call this game sevens so the fact that we’re playing six on six is massive courage and you can see that paid off,” teammate Sharni Smale told reporters after Australia booked their place in the semis.
“We talked about courage as currency and we definitely went out there and showed that.
“Just super proud of the girls’ effort and looking forward to what we’ve got tomorrow. Really just soak up what we just did and be proud of that effort.
“Tomorrow’s a new day.”
Younger sister Teagan was handed a three-match ban on Saturday morning. The judiciary considered mitigating factors and deemed that suspension to be fair.
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Levi will return for Australia’s final match in front of their home fans – it’ll be either the Cup final or a third-place playoff – but sister Maddison would have to be considered unlikely to return.
“It’s clearly a little issue in our team but it’s all about tackling low,” Smale said.
“We’ve just got to get back to the drawing board and get those tackles low.”
The Black Ferns Sevens’ teenage sensation Jorja Miller, who signed the longest women’s contract in New Zealand Rugby history last year, was also shown a red card.
In a separate incident, Miller caught an opposing player high. Miller started to run for the sideline before referee Chan pulled the card out of his pocket.
