Australia’s women have capped off Paris Olympics preparations in perfect fashion, defeating France 26-7 in the final of the Madrid Sevens on Monday morning (AEST).
Faith Nathan opened the scoring, before the French hit back with a try of their own to be level at 7-all at half time.
But the Aussies ran away with it in the second half, with Maddison Levi scoring a hat-trick to earn her player of the final honours.
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It moved her to 69 tries for the season, and she moved into second on the all-time season try-scorers list, both men and women.
The Australian team celebrate on the final whistle after beating France in the HSBC Madrid Rugby Sevens Final match at Civitas Metropolitano Stadium on June 02, 2024 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images) Getty
It was the Aussies’ second triumph over France in a final this season, having also done so in Cape Town.
It means the women clinch the series trophy, having also won the season-opening event in Dubai.
“It’s awesome, we love coming to play in Spain, every time we’ve been here it’s been amazing,” skipper Charlotte Caslick said.
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“We had a really good weekend, we were clinical in our attack and defended our hearts out so it’s nice to be back on top.”
Madrid was the last tournament before Paris 2024.
Caslick missed the last event in Singapore with injury but returned in Madrid.
But the side was without Madi Ashby and Lily Dick, who both suffered ACL injuries in Singapore.
The Australian team celebrates with the trophy after beating France in the HSBC Madrid Rugby Sevens Final match at Civitas Metropolitano Stadium on June 02, 2024 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images) Getty
“I worked pretty hard when I was back home watching the girls in Singapore but they grew so much over there,” Caslick said.
“Losing Madi Ashby was a big bummer for us but we’re playing for her and all the other girls who can’t be here.
“You notice how resilient our team is for such a young group of girls, just the way they adapt to change and bounce back from adversity, it’s really inspiring.
“They’ve still got so much to give, they’re so young and they just make me really proud and motivate me to get better every day.
Maddison Levi scored a hat-trick in the final to finish second on all-time season try scorers, men or women, with 69. Getty
“It’s obviously great to get a win over the Kiwis this morning, we have a ding-dong battle with them, so to get some confidence out of that [leading into the Olympics] and belief in ourselves is really important.
“Like every team we’ll work hard to get it right over there [in Paris].”
The Aussies had earlier in the day defeated New Zealand 19-14 in the semi-final.
Coach Tim Walsh said ending the season with a win was “poetic”.
“We are still building and this momentum will only motivate us to work harder. Sevens has it all and particularly in this sport you cannot take anything for granted.
The men beat Great Britain 21-0 in the seventh place playoff.