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Hat-trick hero Davis leads Aussies into decider against New Zealand
By Finn Morton at National Stadium, Singapore
Youngster Mackenzie Davis has played a key role in Australia’s run to the Singapore semi-finals, with the 20-year-old scoring her first-ever HSBC SVNS Series hat-trick in a dominant 45-7 win over Paris Olympics silver medallists Canada.
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Australia are now one win away from taking out the title at the National Stadium, but they will face a familiar foe in the decider on Sunday with New Zealand recording a hard-earned 40-14 win over France 19-14 in a battle for a spot in the big dance.
Maddison Levi became the first Australian to score 200 career tries on the top-flight sevens circuit with an effort against Japan on day one, and it was that same story on Sunday as the reigning World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year opened the scoring in the semi-finals.
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Australia dominated possession early on and were rewarded as Levi raced away for a try in just the second minute, and the prolific try-scorer wasn’t done there as she crossed for another before the half-time huddle. Bienne Terita and Davis also scored first-half tries.
Eden Kilgour hit back for Canada early in the second term, but Tia Hinds cancelled out that five-pointer before Davis completed a hat-trick. It wasn’t close in the end as Australia showcased their sevens brilliance yet again in the semi-finals.
“I guess I’m lucky to be surrounded by some amazing players like Maddi Levi, getting 200 yesterday,” Davis told RugbyPass.
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“Every time we play either France or New Zealand it’s such a tough battle and I think going into this tournament, we know it’s going to come down to the wire so whoever we come up against will be a tough game for sure.
“It’s always tough after a loss but getting to back it up straight away, it’s a good thing,” she added when asked about losing the Hong Kong Sevens Final last weekend. “We’re still fresh and we’re still ready to go for one more.”
Australia will take on arch-rivals New Zealand in a rematch of last season’s Singapore decider, with the All Blacks Sevens running away with a hard-fought win over France. It was a five-point game at the break but the Kiwis, much like the Aussies, proved themselves a class above.
Jazmin Felix-Hotham, Stacey Waaka and Michaela Brake scored a try each, and that had New Zealanders in a strong position during the first term, but tries to Lili Dezou and Carla Neisen ensured the French wouldn’t go down without a fight.
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France gave it everything in the second term, with the New Zealanders going down to six women at one stage too, but it wasn’t to bed for the Europeans. The Black Ferns Sevens ran away with what seemed like a comfortable win, but it was anything but.
Brake and Kelsey Teneti raced away for much-needed tries with only a few minutes left to play, and one last effort from Jorja Miller capped off a strong semi-final performance. After taking out the league title on Saturday, the Kiwis are looking to go back-to-back in Singapore.
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