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Grieving period over for Australia as SVNS comes to town
By AAP
Australia women’s Sevens coach Tim Walsh says he and his players have well and truly grieved their Olympics heartbreak, and they’ll be ready to put on a show in Perth this weekend.
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The Rugby Sevens hits Perth’s HBF Stadium from this Friday, and there are high hopes the Australian women’s team can improve on last year’s runner-up display.
Australia sit second behind NZ on the overall standings after two events, with Walsh’s team following up their triumph in Dubai with a fourth-placed finish in Cape Town.
Those two events marked Australia’s first return to action since missing a medal at the Paris Olympics.
Australia were on track to secure a spot in the gold medal match after leading Canada 12-0 in their semi-final, but lost 21-12.
After that shock, Australia were in the box seat to win a consolation bronze medal, only for the US to score a converted try at the death to pull off a 14-12 win.
Australian players were left in tears following the two heartbreaking results, and Walsh detailed the path he and his team have taken to rebound from that.
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“You’ve got to sit with it. You’ve got to respect it and grieve, and that’s totally understandable – I certainly did,” Walsh told AAP in Perth on Thursday.
“And then you review it together, and you always go back to what we were all about at the start.
“We were about the journey. We were about preparation. We were about not being defined by our result.
“It doesn’t change how much it hurts, but you’ve got to put things in perspective and then look forward to what’s next.
“For us, Dubai was next, and we went out there and won it and probably had our best statistical tournament for a long, long time.”
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Walsh led the Australian women’s Sevens team to gold at the 2016 Rio Games before switching to the men’s program for several years.
It meant he wasn’t at the helm when the women missed a medal at the 2021 Tokyo Games, and he’s being backed in to lead the team to the LA Olympics despite the Paris disappointment.
“I just feel so privileged to be coaching Australia, and I’ve done it for 12 years with the men and women,” Walsh said.
“And the fact that the organisation want to keep me and believe I’m the right person for the job gives me a lot of confidence.
“It (the Paris Olympics) was one tournament, and it almost went perfectly.
“I think if you put so much pressure on one tournament, then you’re going to put yourself in a bit of a hole.
“I absolutely love coaching, and we’ve been an incredibly successful team for over a decade.
“So as long as that feeling is right with both parties and with the players, then it will continue, and I certainly have plans for making sure this program is sustainable and successful for the future.”
There were initial concerns players would be greeted by 40-degree heat for the Sevens tournament in Perth, but forecasts have since been downgraded to 33C, 30C and 29C across the three days.
The Australian women are in Pool C, and they’ll face China and Spain on Friday, before taking on France on Saturday.
