Maddison and Teagan Levi a crucial part of Australia’s 7s rugby team aiming for Paris Olympic gold

Superstar sisters Maddison and Teagan Levi have grand ambitions for the Australian women's 7s team and Olympic gold is just the start.

When sisters Maddison and Teagan Levi decided they wanted to play rugby union, their mum had one non-negotiable – they both wear protective headgear.

It was bright yellow and they hated it. It made them sweaty and claustrophobic, but they wore it for mum Richelle, who’d seen too many knocks in her time watching union and league, particularly as her husband Jason had his own share of big tackles when he played. Until one day, the headgear fell off Maddi’s head mid-game.

“The day it fell off, I was like, this is a blessing in disguise,” jokes Maddi, now 21.

“Teagan started playing (rugby 7s) at 15 and I was 16 … and we both started with bright yellow headgear. It was more for peace of mind for Mum, because Dad played a bit of league and she grew up watching league, so she knew how tough the contact game could be. I remember I hated wearing it … and one day it fell off my head mid game. I looked up at the grandstand to get the approval that it was okay to not wear it – and it’s funny because now we look back, and there are studies that it’s actually not proven to prevent a concussion. It’s more for cuts and scratches and peace of mind for parents.”

Maddison (left) and Teagan Levi have Olympic gold in their sights. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

The Levi sisters are a crucial part of the Australian rugby team. Picture: Mark Evans/Getty Images

It’s part and parcel of the game for the Gold Coast sisters who now call Maroubra home, after having signed with Rugby Australia until 2026. They may have picked up the rugby 7s game late – Teagan, now 20, says she wasn’t signed to a team until she was 17½ – but the goals they’ve kicked in the few years since are remarkable. They’ve got three gold medals to their names – the 2021-22 World Series, the 2022 Commonwealth Games and the 2022 World Cup – and in August they hope to round out that haul with another: gold at the Olympic Games in Paris.

Maddi was named the 2022 World Series Rookie of the Year. She holds the Australian record for most tries in a World Series season (37 in 2022-23). Teagan played three events on the 2021-22 tour as she became a regular within the squad.

Maddison Levi was the 2022 World Series Rookie of the Year. Picture: Michael Bradley / AFP

“It’s just such a surreal feeling – every day is just a pinch-me moment,” Maddi says. “The ability that now, as women in sport, we are able to train full time and day in, day out, we get to do what we love – it’s pretty awesome. When you look at the big picture – achieving the Commonwealth Games gold medal, the World Cup gold medal, the World Series win – it’s happened so fast that it still feels surreal that we’ve done it, and we’ve done it together.

“The Olympics is the last medal that we need to complete our series. And the team we have right now – there’s no other team that I would back into winning the gold.”

Born 16 months apart, the sisters are so close – and similar – even their mum can barely tell them apart on the phone. But it was their parents who gave them the freedom to chose the sport they love – even if it’s got the biggest tackles going round.

“Growing up they were a bit nervous, I reckon, for our first contact sport,” Maddi says. “But now I think they just love watching us drive and work really hard to be the best person on and off the field.”

Teagan Levi is the younger of the sisters but is also making a mark on the world sevens circuit. Picture: Matt King/Getty Images

From the Gold Coast’s Broadbeach Waters, they had to move to Sydney for their training program, and while there are rumours swirling that the program could be relocated to Brisbane, the sisters are staying put in Sydney for the foreseeable future.

“We’ve lived together now in Sydney for almost a year … it’s something we’ve had to do to chase our dream,” Teagan says.

At the time, Teagan was not long out of school, and Maddi just two years out.

“We had to learn to look after ourselves – and not just as humans, but as athletes – fuelling ourselves the right way and resetting and not saying yes to everything and overdoing ourselves,” Maddi says.

“We’ve grown as people.”

From a young age, they’ve stayed focused on the end goal – and are hoping that will pay off in Paris.

“We’ve had to sacrifice a lot of things to put our best foot forward – like Teagan missed her school formal so she could go play Dubai,” Maddi says.

The Levi sisters attended Miami SHS where they were star performers.

“So you learn as an athlete, you have to sacrifice things. But on the mental side, it’s hard … 7s is such a rewarding sport, but you actually have to push your body to the limits day in and day out. That’s probably the hardest thing around the mental scheme – is just turning up the next day knowing you’re probably going to get flogged, and you’re probably going to end up in tears, because it is hard. But the rewards you get when you stand on top of that podium … you can’t beat.”

Teagan says they’re in the fortunate position of being able to do what they love full time, allowing them the best training possible. That came to light when Maddi got a concussion in the second half of their last game at a tournament in Perth.

“It was pretty upsetting,” Maddi says – although “part of the game”.

“Then I had to do a seven-day protocol to come back. I think we’re pretty lucky because we’re a full-time sport, so we’re able to train every day.”

Now, it’s game time as they maintain their best possible form in the lead-up to the Olympics, where their parents will be cheering them on if they make the team, to be selected on July 1. Some days that’s seven hours of training – but they’re striving for a “happy balance”.

Both would love to pick up another medal – Olympic gold – to add to the collection. Picture: Brendan Hertel/QRU Media

“I think the beauty of our sport is we have a World Series every year, so our preparation kind of started in December last year when we played our first tournament in Dubai,” Teagan says.

“It’s also a matter of not overtraining because it has been a long campaign … so people do come in six days a week and train ungodly hours … but then we also are human and need weeks where we can wind down and enjoy that.”

April 13 marks a day off, and they will spend it as spectators at the BSc Energy Aqua Rugby on Sydney’s Darling Harbour. They’re both BSc ambassadors, supporting under-represented athletes, particularly in Olympic sports like rugby 7s that don’t attract the funding of more mainstream sports. The Levi sisters say that’s critical to growing the game they love.

“Aqua Rugby, it’s pretty cool – it’s on a little pontoon and to actually score the try you dive into the ocean, so that’s a bit of fun and such a cool atmosphere to rugby,” Maddi says.

Being role models to budding rugby hopefuls is a big responsibility for them both – and one they take great pride in.

Maddison and Teagan are hoping to make the Sevens team as big as the Matildas. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

“There are limitless opportunities and if you can dream it, you can do it,” Teagan says. “I always reply to the little girls and boys that reach out because I was once that little girl who thought that I would never have a possibility to actually play for Australia, let alone be a gold medallist. I want it to be known that just because you don’t make teams when you’re little, that’s not the be all end all … just because you don’t have the talent at the start, if you work hard, anything is possible.”

They say women’s rugby union has come a long way, but there’s always room for improvement. They want to be household names like the Matildas – and that means they need game time at better times for young fans to see them take on the best in the world – and win.

“We’ve definitely come far as a sport, as a whole,” Teagan says.

“But there’s definitely a lot more room for growth. Look at the Matildas – when they played their World Cup here at home – each one of them are household names and even the NRL girls, they’re incredible athletes and they’re household names, but I feel like we are just as incredible, but just due to not playing good hours – like for a child to come home and put the TV on and we’re playing – it affects and jeopardises just how much we can actually influence the next generation in Australia.

“That’s my goal one day – to be a household name – or to walk down the street and someone recognise who we are.”

So – can they take home the Olympic gold?

“I think we definitely have the team to bring home a gold medal,” Maddi says.

“At the moment, we’re working really hard together. We pride ourselves on a sisterhood. And it doesn’t just take the seven people on the field, or the five people on the bench; it takes a whole squad and everyone does their part.

“I definitely think we have the team to bring home that gold, and I don’t think it gets any more special than that.”

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