The Australian Women’s 7s team have made a strong statement as to their Gold Medal claims on the first day of the Rio Olympic Games overnight. The Aussies have not conceded a point in their two games so far and racked up plenty of their own on the back of big wins over Colombia and Fiji.
Australia 53 defeated Colombia 0
Starters:
1 Shannon Parry
2 Sharni Williams
5 Emma Tonegato
7 Charlotte Caslick
8 Chloe Dalton
10 Alica Quirk
11 Emilee Cherry
Substitutes:
3 Nicole Beck
4 Gemma Etheridge
6 Evania Pelite
9 Amy Turner
12 Ellia Green
Scorers:
Charlotte Caslick 3, Nicole Beck, Shannon Parry, Sharni Williams, Emma Tonegato, Amy Turner tries; Chloe Dalton 3, Gemma Etheridge con.
Notes:
- Australia dominated possession for the entire match. Colombia barely touched the ball in the first half.
- Dalton’s kick off’s were brilliant as was the retrieval work of the likes of Williams, Parry, Turner and Quirk.
- Caslick displayed lightning speed and brilliant vision for her three tries. She remains one of the smartest, most skillful players in Australia.
- Beck and Tonegato combined wonderfully for one standout try.
- The Aussies didn’t make their first mistake until mid-way into the 2nd half.
- The Australian win was built on the hard work of co-captains Parry and Williams, as well as Dalton’s composure in the middle.
Australia 36 defeated Fiji 0
Starters:
1 Shannon Parry
2 Sharni Williams
5 Emma Tonegato
7 Charlotte Caslick
8 Chloe Dalton
10 Alica Quirk
11 Emilee Cherry
Substitutes:
3 Nicole Beck
4 Gemma Etheridge
6 Evania Pelite
9 Amy Turner
12 Ellia Green
Scorers:
Emma Tonegato 2, Charlotte Caslick, Emliee Cherry, Ellia Green tries; Chloe Dalton 3 con, 1 try.
Notes:
- This was a really impressive win considering that Fiji got up over the USA earlier in the day.
- Tonegato again demonstrated what an exceptional finisher she is with two brilliantly taken tries(following on from another in the first game).
- Cherry showed no ill-effects of her strained hammy in racing away for the first try of the game.
- The last two tries of this game were as good as any you will see in 7s rugby. The first, scored by Tonegato, came from wonderful vision by Caslick to grubber into space for Tonegato to finish. The second, scored by a deserving Dalton, was a wonderful series of ball work by three or four Aussie players as they changed the point of attack to find the Fijians short out wide.
- Green was pretty damn determined to get on the Olympic scoreboard having not had an impact on the first game. She did it, using her speed to get over in the corner.
- Again, Dalton’s kick-0ffs were superbly executed and the Aussies regained plenty of possession from the re-starts.
Other results:
Group A:
Fiji 12 defeated USA 7
USA 48 defeated Colombia 0
Group B:
France 24 defeated Spain 7
New Zealand 52 defeated Kenya 0
France 50 defeated Kenya 7
New Zealand 31 defeated Spain 5
Group C:
Great Britain 29 defeated Brazil 3
Canada 45 defeated Japan 0
Great Britain 40 defeated Japan 0
Canada 38 defeated Brazil 0
Remaining Games:
Monday 8 August
Match 13 12.00am Pool B Spain v Kenya
Match 14 12.30am Pool B New Zealand v France
Match 15 1.00am Pool C Brazil v Japan
Match 16 1.30am Pool C Canada v Great Britain
Match 17 2.00am Pool A Fiji v Colombia
Match 18 2.30am Pool A Australia v USA
Quarter-Final matches from 6am
Tuesday 9 August
Semi-Final matches from 3.30am
7.30am Bronze Medal Match
8.00am Gold Medal Match
