Australian women’s rugby sevens make dominant start in Rio
AUSTRALIA has made its intentions in the race for the women’s rugby sevens Olympic title clear with dominant wins over Colombia and Fiji for a combined 89-0 score line.
THEY scored 15 slick tries in 28 dominant minutes but it was the gutsy defence of Australia’s women’s team that had coach Tim Walsh smiling after a strong opening day of Olympic rugby.
The Aussie women’s side locked in a quarter-final berth courtesy of two wins over Colombia and Fiji, and with score lines of 53-0 and 36-0, showed exactly why they are the reigning world champions and no. 1 seed for the Olympics.
Inch-perfect skills and raw pace saw the Australian side hammer an overwhelmed Colombia but after not being physically tested at all in the opening game, Walsh’s side muscled up superbly against the abrasive Fijians to get the job done in the second.
Fiji had bashed the USA in their first game and had the intent to do the same to Australia.
But led by the power of Sharni Williams, Chloe Dalton and Shannon Parry up front, the speedsters out wide like Charlotte Caslick, Emma Tonegato and an injury-free Emilee Cherry sealed the deal against the always threatening Fiji team.
The restart kicking of Dalton was also top-notch, and allowed Australia to dominate possession.
New Zealand were impressive in their two wins on day one as well, but the Australian side’s blend of power, pace and unrelenting precision set an exciting finals.
Australia still have the USA to play in their pool matches but have already done enough to secure a quarter-final, likely against Spain.
“Our for and against is high but the most pleasing thing is the doughnut on our defence, which is awesome,” Walsh said.
“We expected a really physical game there but I thought we nullified Fiji’s strength and really played to ours. I thought we took ownership of that game and controlled it really well.
“Going into the game we expected some shooters, some high tackles, some late hits.
“That was what we expected and the girls took it well. They were ready for a physical battle, and that’s the way it is going to be from here on in. Really pleased with day one but it is only going to get more important with each day.
“Day two is going to be even more important. Tomorrow afternoon in the quarter-final, that’s when the pressure cooker is really going to be on.
It will be great to see how they stand up and be counted there. So far they are tracking really well.”
Cherry was under an injury cloud in the lead-up to the game, after straining a hamstring. She passed a fitness test on Saturday morning and wasn’t even rested, as planned.
Several open runs saw her injury tested and the star player came through fine.
“It was a bit niggly during the week and wasn’t able to train with the girls which was disappointing but it felt really good out there,” Cherry said.
“I’ve been plagued with these muscular injuries throughout my life and the physios did a great job to get me back on the field and I’m really confident on it now.”
Cherry praised the composure of her team after they withstood the physical pressure of Fiji, recycled their ball and delivered the ball with lovely passing to the attacking runners out wide.
“It was good going out there and playing Colombia and getting our plays sorted and that really gave us confidence going into that Fiji game,” Cherry said.
“We saw them against USA and they were just so physical so we knew we had all our plays down pat and our patterns working really and we just had to lift up defensively and our physicality in the game.”
####
New coaches to lead rowing into future after Paris disaster
Rowing Australia has installed new men’s and women’s head coaches to lead its program to the LA and Brisbane Games after its worst Olympic return in more than 30 years.
Healy takes Olympic legend to task over commentary slight
Swimming legend Ian Thorpe has found himself in the crosshair’s of Australian cricket great Alyssa Healy – who has taken umbrage at a piece of commentary from the Paris Olympics.