Commonwealth Games (2022) - Sevens
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@Machpants said in Commonwealth Games (2022) - Sevens:
@Bones said in Commonwealth Games (2022) - Sevens:
What's up with this inexperienced England team? I don't recognise anyone except Bowen.
Exactly that. bunch of nobodies.
But man I love the reffing in 7s, hands touch the ground before the ball, penalty
Watching the way our 7s guys approach the breakdown and the calculated way they make a tackle to put themselves in a position to then immediately compete for the ball makes me somewhat depressed about the ABs
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Just the conversion separating them now.
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Too many penalties given away
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Nup. Poor defence.
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Good match
That Aussie winger is a gun
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Regan ware scores AB7s second try. 12-0 to the good guys at the break.
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Question, and it's probably been mentioned ( @Stargazer ?), and I can make a guess as to the reason ...
... but why do the chicks go straight to Semi Finals, but the blokes have QFs?
Insufficient competitive Commonwealth teams in women's comp?
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@booboo said in Commonwealth Games (2022) - Sevens:
Question, and it's probably been mentioned ( @Stargazer ?), and I can make a guess as to the reason ...
... but why do the chicks go straight to Semi Finals, but the blokes have QFs?
Insufficient competitive Commonwealth teams in women's comp?
A numbers game. The quarters would be a bit meaningless as you'd have the third placed pool teams.
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@Crucial said in Commonwealth Games (2022) - Sevens:
@booboo said in Commonwealth Games (2022) - Sevens:
Question, and it's probably been mentioned ( @Stargazer ?), and I can make a guess as to the reason ...
... but why do the chicks go straight to Semi Finals, but the blokes have QFs?
Insufficient competitive Commonwealth teams in women's comp?
A numbers game. The quarters would be a bit meaningless as you'd have the third placed pool teams.
That's kinda the point of my last question. Not enough to make 16 competitive teams?
I obviously didn't take any interest in the comp set up.
Only two pools of 4...
New Zealand Australia
Canada Fiji
England Scotland
Sri Lanka South AfricaNo:
- Wales
- Tonga
- Samoa
I suspect any teams additional to them would be dubious quality.
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@booboo said in Commonwealth Games (2022) - Sevens:
@Crucial said in Commonwealth Games (2022) - Sevens:
@booboo said in Commonwealth Games (2022) - Sevens:
Question, and it's probably been mentioned ( @Stargazer ?), and I can make a guess as to the reason ...
... but why do the chicks go straight to Semi Finals, but the blokes have QFs?
Insufficient competitive Commonwealth teams in women's comp?
A numbers game. The quarters would be a bit meaningless as you'd have the third placed pool teams.
That's kinda the point of my last question. Not enough to make 16 competitive teams?
I obviously didn't take any interest in the comp set up.
Only two pools of 4...
New Zealand Australia
Canada Fiji
England Scotland
Sri Lanka South AfricaNo:
- Wales
- Tonga
- Samoa
I suspect any teams additional to them would be dubious quality.
Would be even lighter if it was a GB team. Hopefully the womens game gets going in places like Kenya and Uganda like it did in Fiji.
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@MiketheSnow said in Commonwealth Games (2022) - Sevens:
Good match
That Aussie winger is a gun
The Aussie womenâs team are very good, well coached and have good balance. Caslick is a superstar and Levi who is still so young is coming on in leaps and bounds.
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@ACT-Crusader said in Commonwealth Games (2022) - Sevens:
@MiketheSnow said in Commonwealth Games (2022) - Sevens:
Good match
That Aussie winger is a gun
The Aussie womenâs team are very good, well coached and have good balance. Caslick is a superstar and Levi who is still so young is coming on in leaps and bounds.
Her sister Teagan is also a star in the making.
Meet the âincredibleâ Australian sisters being chased by three footy codes
Teagan and Maddi Levi are in hot demand from AFL and NRL clubs but will play alongside each other for Australia in rugby sevens at the Commonwealth Games.
Meet the âincredibleâ Australian sisters being chased by three footy codes
Imagine having a daughter who has been tipped to dominate professional rugby union, rugby league or Aussie rules, depending on what sport she decides to pursue.
Imagine having another daughter, still in her teens and 16 months younger, with just as much potential who sits at the same dinner table every night.
Imagine if those talented girls were mentored and managed by a guy like Mat Rogers, one of Australiaâs most recognisable dual internationals.
Then youâd get the Levi sisters.
Meet Teagan (18) and Maddi (20), the close-as-could-be sisters being chased by multiple clubs across three major football codes who will make their Commonwealth Games debuts next Friday with the all-conquering womenâs Australian rugby sevens side.
Teagan and Maddi Levi were born in south-west Sydney but grew up on the Gold Coast, dreaming of travelling the world as dancers on a cruise ship.
Now theyâre dancing on the footy field.
Described by their coach as âincredible athletesâ, the pair have Rogers, the former Wallabies and Kangaroos legend, guiding them every step of the way.
âMaddi Levi is a phenomenal athlete [who is six foot tall] ... and Teagan is just so tough,â says Australian coach Tim Walsh. âPhysically and mentally, they are absolute competitors.â
Rogers is one of Australiaâs greatest code-hoppers. He played 200 NRL matches, State of Origin for Queensland and 11 league games for his country, as well as 45 Tests for the Wallabies that included a World Cup final in 2003.
e knows a thing or two about exceeding on the world stage.
In the late 90s, Rogers played league against a bloke named Jason Levi, who used to run out for Manly.
The pair stayed in touch over the years - their kids both went to the same school - as they built their lives on the Gold Coast.
Leviâs daughters might not be household names just yet, but thereâs every chance they will be in the near future.
âWe come from a sporty family, which has helped our genetics,â Maddi says. âDad played footy for Manly in the rezzies [reserves] and a few first grade games. Mum played netball.
âOur first dream was to dance on a cruise ship. We would dance every day after school from 4pm until 9pm.
âNow weâre travelling the world and we get to play footy.â
When Maddi was in Year 10, she wanted to play rugby, but her mum wouldnât let her.
âBut she let her play,â says Maddi, pointing at her younger - and shorter - sister. âTeagan had a bit of mongrel in her.â
Once both caught the footy bug, nothing could stop the Levi sisters. They juggled Aussie rules and rugby commitments, knowing they had the luxury of doing so in their teens.
They played Aussie rules for Miami High, then for Bond University in the QAFLW, with Maddi up front and Teagan in the midfield.
While still chipping away at rugby - and succeeding - the pair were drafted by the Gold Coast Suns in the AFLW.
Maddi represented Australia at the Tokyo Olympics last year before it was announced in October the pair had turned their back on Aussie rules, for the time being, to accept full-time contracts in the sevens program.
âAFLW and NRLW is still there, which later down the track weâd love to give a go, but for now our heart is set on sevens,â Maddi says.
âIn sevens there is so much opportunity and itâs a growing sport. With the Olympics coming up and World Series [tournaments] every year, travelling the world with your best friend ... thereâs no other sport that compares to that.â
Teagan adds: âMads has been my best friend since day one. I guess we do fight a little bit, but as weâve grown older I wouldnât change it for the world to finally play in an Aussie sevens team together. Itâs a dream come true.â
Maddi chimes back in. There is a synchronicity about the duo who donât seem to stop smiling.
âAlthough weâre always travelling, youâve still got a part of home with you,â Maddi says. âSheâs my biggest critic and Iâm her biggest critic.â
So, what next? Rogers, contacted by the Herald and The Age weeks after the initial interviews with the Levi sisters, said he was blown away by their ability.
âThey are in demand, I can assure you of that,â Rogers says. âWeâve had four NRL clubs want their signatures and the Gold Coast Suns have tabled an offer for Teagan. They are freak talents. They could comfortably play and excel in all three codes. They have worked their tails off.
âIn the last 12 months things have skyrocketed for them. They are just the most beautiful, humble young girls that have a work ethic of few that Iâve seen before. They just want it so badly. Thatâs a unique trait. With skill level and desire and work ethic, put those things together and you get freak athletes like LeBron James or Tom Trbojevic or those sort of players that dominate.
âTheir highlight reels are pretty mind-blowing.â
The praise goes both ways.
âHaving Mat Rogers in our corner is one of the best things we have chosen to do,â Teagan says. âWe did catch the back end of his career.â
Maddi adds: âHeâs played both codes, so he knows whatâs best.â
The Levi sisters are one of three sets of siblings in Birmingham competing for Australia, with the others being Angela and Jack Yu (badminton), as well as Nathan and Josh Katz (judo).
They are certainly not the finished product. Maddi is the more established player for Australia. She scored 24 tries in 34 sevens matches during the recent World Series circuit, while Teagan is highly regarded by those inside the sevens set-up.
Earlier this year, Australia won their first World Sevens Series title since 2018 but are chasing Commonwealth Games redemption against New Zealand, who secured a 17-12 victory in the final on the Gold Coast four years ago.
âWe want to show the world where weâve come since the Olympics,â Maddi says.
Post Commonwealth Games, the phone calls to Rogers will continue to roll in.
Do the Levi sisters consider themselves a package deal? They are off contract with the sevens program at the end of 2023 but do have the 2024 Paris Olympics on their mind.
âI wouldnât say theyâre 100 per cent a package deal, but at this stage itâs probably leaning that way,â Rogers says.
Maddi and Teagan say they are open to going their separate ways down the track.
âItâs not like a one-in, all-in [situation],â Maddi says.
Teagan adds: âIf you want to try and crack the team like I am - I think playing one code is what my main goal is. Hopefully I can make the Olympics. Thatâs a dream.
âBut it doesnât mean Iâll shut doors to other options.â
