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New Australia captain’s inspiring message after Dubai Sevens triumph
By Finn Morton
New Australia women’s sevens captain Isabella Nasser insisted with a smile that “the best is yet to come” for the team after their title triumph at the Dubai Sevens. Australia were practically flawless throughout the event, which included a tight 28-24 win over New Zealand in the Final.
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From 2021 to 2023, the Aussies won four consecutive Cup Finals at the HSBC SVNS Stop in the UAE, which saw them take on New Zealand in the big dance twice. As the women in gold looked to stretch their era of dominance into a fifth tournament, they’d need to beat their fierce rivals again.
Defending overall SVNS Series champions Australia started the 2025 season with an utterly relentless 52-nil win over China before claiming big wins over Fiji and Ireland. They only conceded 12 points across those three games as they finished with +106 points differential.
The Australians continued their series of statement performances with a 39-nil demolition of Olympic medallists Canada in the quarters and a 35-7 win over Great Britain in their semi-final. But their biggest challenge was yet to come after New Zealand’s 14-point win over France.
Faith Nathan and Teagan Levi scored early tries for Australia, but the Black Ferns Sevens struck back through Jorja Miller and Risi Pouri-Lane. Captain Nasser scored just before the half-time break, but the Kiwis would soon take the lead after two quick tries during the second term.
In a blockbuster Cup Final that lived up to the hype, try-scoring phenomenon Maddison Levi – who scored a women’s SVNS Series record 15 five-pointers across the two-day event – intercepted a Jazmin Felix-Hotham pass to score what ended up being the match-winner with two minutes left.
“It’s pretty incredible, I’m sort of lost for words with how I feel right now. I’m on the verge of tears but also laughing and so happy, so proud of the girls and how they showed up tonight and the rest of the tournament,” Nasser, who was announced last week as the team’s new captain, said on the RugbyPass TV broadcast.
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“We just have such a tight-knit group, The young ones really showed up today, and I’m sure they will the rest of the season. We’ve got such a young, mature group so the best is yet to come so I’m super excited.
“The Black Ferns are always such a hard team to verse; they always show up and it’s always such a good rivalry. They’re such good sport and they’re my favourite team to verse both on and off the field.
“I’m really, really proud of my girls and also such a great game with the Black Ferns.”
It’s a perfect start to the new SVNS Series season as the reigning champions look to set the tone early for what they hope is another ascent to the top of the sevens world. Australia took a maximum of 20 points out of the event as they sit on top of the women’s standings after round one.
As for Australia’s men’s side, they weren’t quite as successful as they were left to settle for seventh after bowing out in the quarters. They fell to last season’s League Winners Argentina 22-20, with a missed conversion proving the difference between a loss and golden point.
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But with Henry Paterson leading the way, the Aussies rallied in their final match of the tournament against a Great Britain outfit that looks to be growing in confidence. Henry Palmer scored the opener for Australia before GB piled on 12 unanswered points to round out the half.
2024 Australia U20 backrower Aden Ekanayake scored about 15 seconds into the second half to help the men’s team reduce the deficit. In the end, Paterson’s try in the 13th minute was a differencemaker as they emerged victorious 17-12.
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