Going Forward: Sydney 7s next weekend

The result is not the one the Australians may have hoped for.  While it could be described as a satisfactory one for the first tournament of 2020, it is arguably not what the Australian’s will be aiming for in terms of form should as they try to defend their gold medal. 

While this weekend’s tournament showed how the current combination of youngsters and veterans in the team has significant potential, their performances also highlighted several weaknesses.

The ability of teams to contain the Aussie women defensively was on display several times on Sunday.  It left the Australians looking unable to find space and often losing ground instead of gaining it.  This was especially apparent against stronger and higher-ranked teams. 

The Aussie’s inconsistency in scoring conversions in this tournament, missing on average one per match, is also concerning.  While conversion points were not the deciders of any of their games in this tournament, conversions can be the points that win a match. This is an area to improve.

Sharpening up on missed passes and turnovers will also be a point of focus for Australia.  Arguably for the first tournament in almost a month and a half, some rustiness was to be expected though.  These are but a few of the things the team will be working on in the upcoming months building to Tokyo.

In the meantime, they remain in second place with 64 points in the 2019-20 World Rugby Sevens Series Championship.  Canada is now close behind in third with 62 points.  With their Hamilton 7s win, New Zealand now surpass the Aussies by 12 points, with 76 cumulative points. 

Ellia Green, was named to the HSBC Dream Team for the tournament.

The Australians can look forward to a home tournament next weekend.  The next event in the World Rugby Sevens Series, the Sydney7s, will take place in Sydney, NWS on February 1-2, 2020.