HSBC SVNS Cape Town - Women's Day ONE
WRAP: Three sides finish the HSBC SVNS Day One in Cape Town with perfect winning records.
Australia’s Maddison Levi scored her 100th sevens try as the Dubai champions won three from three on the opening day at the Cape Town Sevens.
Levi added another five touchdowns to the 12 she scored last weekend, to reach 100 tries in just 15 tournaments as the Australians set out their stall for a first-ever sevens series win in South Africa.
New Zealand and France, too, qualified for the quarter-finals with three wins from three.
Australia will face Ireland in the second quarter-final on Sunday, while New Zealand take on Canada, France will meet Fiji, and Great Britain will play USA.
Unfortunately South Africa failed to replicate their strong start from last weekend in Dubai, as they lost all three their pool games, against France, Canada and the USA.
Round One:
Ireland 7’s W vs Brazil 7’s W
A strong first-half effort by the Irish Women has them firmly in the driver’s seat against the Brazilians who have fought bravely up until the first few moments of the game. Eventually, the dam wall had to break as the Irish women were able to close out the game with a comfortable try margin and a great start to their campaign.
New Zealand 7’s W vs Great Britain 7’s W
Michaela Blyde and Portia-Woodman ensure that the NZ 7’s side gets off to a flying start in Cape Town. The Kiwi ladies got off to a brilliant start and were leading by a whopping 22 points at half-time. The NZ ladies started this Cape Town SVNS tournament off in style by convincingly beating Great Britain.
Australia 7’s W vs Spain 7’s W
The Australia women love playing in Cape Town and the world reigning champions made no exception today in their opening round match. They made light work of dismantling the Spanish Women who just could not get any ball in the game.
Fiji 7’s W vs Japan 7’s W
Fiji and Japan going head to head and it was a very tough half out there with the Fijian Women leading by 19 points to 7 at half-time. Fiji were just too strong for the Japanese women this time around and that was a great win for Fiji to kick-off their tournament.
Canada 7’s W vs USA 7’s W
A physical encounter between these two sides as USA led 14-0 at the break. USA took the game away from Canada in the second half to get their tournament off to a great start. The Women Eagles side will be very happy with this start as they convincingly beat Canada by 21 points to 14.
South Africa 7’s W vs France 7’s W
Cape Town going crazy in the morning as South Africa scores the first try of the game and France are on the back foot from minute one. Good half from both sides as the SA women are leading 7-5 at the break. France bounced back and showed what they were made of by eventually beating the host side by 29 points to 7. Good effort from the South African Women’s side but France were very dominant towards the end of this game to get their tournament underway in Cape Town.
#LIVE: Welcome to our LIVE coverage of the South African matches at the #HSBCSVNSCPT on Saturday.@WomenBoks @Blitzboks https://t.co/5isS2VTcno
— rugby365.com (@rugby365com) December 9, 2023
Women’s Round One Results:
Ireland 39 – 14 Brazil
New Zealand 37 – 5 Great Britain
Australia 38 – 0 Spain
Fiji 36 – 12 Japan
Canada 14 – 21 USA
South Africa 7 – 29 France
Round Two:
Ireland 7’s W vs Great Britain 7’s W
Ireland are off to a strong start against Great Britain as they lead at half-time 10 points to 7. This was a nailbiting game until the last whistle but Great Britain have shown some good skills and good patience in the game as they took Ireland down in this thrilling encounter. A massive upset as Great Britain beat Ireland!
New Zealand 7’s W vs Brazil 7’s W
One would’ve expected a walk in the park for the New Zealand women but this wasn’t necessarily the case as the Brazilians showed that they can keep up with the best with one try being the difference between the two sides at the halfway mark. The Black Ferns had to grind out this win as the Brazilian women showed a much-improved defensive display that saw them lose by only 10 points.
Australia 7’s W vs Japan 7’s W
The Australian Women playing some attractive Rugby in Cape Town! This team looks so good together as they play for one another and gel so well together. Australia come out strong with intent as they lead at half-time 26 points to 0. Japan always give their all but Australia was just too strong for this Japanese team with a convincing victory looking good as always.
Fiji 7’s W vs Spain 7’s W
The Spanish women did not take the challenge of the Fijian’s lying down as they looked to match them upfront in the physical battles. The Fijian women experienced mixed fortunes with an early try in the match but subsequently a red card from a high tackle as well. This gave the Spaniards a glimmer of hope as Fiji continued to hold onto their lead but the spaces kept opening up on defence being a woman down. In the end, the Fijian women were able to sneak home as too many loose passes cost the Spanish efforts.
France 7’s W vs USA 7’s W
France have come to play in Cape Town! Another epic battle between these two sides but France were too strong in all aspects from possession to territory. They started well with two quick tries and just wouldn’t let the American women out of their half for the rest of the game.
Canada 7’s W vs South Africa 7’s W
Canada and South Africa go head to head and this encounter is so physical out there. The crowd is getting behind their nation but Canada have come out to play today with a good half-time lead. The Blitzbok team had one too many errors in their defense as well as their handling that ultimately gave the Canadians a comfortable victory.
Women’s Round Two Results:
Ireland 15 – 19 Great Britain
New Zealand 22 – 12 Brazil
Australia 54 – 0 Japan
Fiji 14 – 10 Spain
France 31 – 0 USA
Canada 40 – 0 South Africa
Round Three:
Brazil 7’s W vs Great Britain 7’s W
Brazil are improving with every game! Brazil and Great Britain are all square at half-time with the score at 14-14. The women from Great Britain know that this is a must win game but the women of Brazil have plans of their own. Those plans are short-lived as Great Britain put together a much more clinical second half performance to close our their day one of the tournament with 6 points.
New Zealand 7’s W vs Ireland 7’s W
A brilliant first half of Rugby between these two powerhouses comes to an end and the score is 14-7 to New Zealand. We thought Ireland would make a comeback in the second half of this match but the Kiwis kept their foot on the throttle to secure their ticket to the play-offs of the HSBC SVNS in Cape Town.
Japan 7’s W vs Spain 7’s W
Spain and Japan scoring two tries each in the first half with Spain converting both their kicks taking the teams into half-time at 14-10 to Spain. Both sides showing immense heart and passion in this game! Japan has edged this tough battle and won this game in the last seconds to beat a tired Spain side. Japan have sneaked the 22-19 win over Spain which the crowd enjoyed very much.
Australia 7’s W vs Fiji 7’s W
This Australian Women’s team is just so special to watch! Fiji have given their all in that first half but with that excellent defense and clinical finishing; Australia led Fiji 14 points to 0 at the half-time break. Charlotte Caslick, Maddison Levi, and the ladies in Gold with another clinical performance all around and walk away with another convincing victory over Fiji with a margin of 21 points.
USA 7’s W vs South Africa 7’s W
The USA team running extremely hard and working so well together. The South African Women are struggling to keep up with this intensity. USA take a healthy lead going into the half-time break leading 24-0. South Africa put up a fight in the second half but USA were too strong for the host nation winning the game convincingly 34-0.
France 7’s W vs Canada 7’s W
An entertaining ending to day one of the women’s edition of the HSVC SVNS Cape Town. France edge the first half leading by 2 tries to 1 as both teams have shown an exciting display of attack to think that the result could go either way. The Canadian women can be proud of their performance, especially with coming close to drawing the game towards the end but the French will be happy with the win as well as a berth in the play-offs.
Women’s Round Three Results:
Brazil 12 – 26 Great Britain
New Zealand 33 – 7 Ireland
Japan 22 – 19 Spain
Australia 28 – 7 Fiji
USA 34 – 0 South Africa
France 19 – 17 Canada
