You can’t win ’em all.
Despite teams arriving into Sydney with the summer sun beating down on them, as soon as the captains assembled under the iconic Harbour Bridge in the city, the clouds covered over and the rain started to fall. But hey, that’s the way it goes.
One team that has won it all however, is the Australian women’s team, represented by captain Sharni Williams at the media event yesterday.
After the highs of winning gold at the Olympic Games last year and claiming the HSBC World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series for the first time, she is thrilled to be able to represent her country on home soil for the first time:
“I actually think it’s awesome that we haven’t had to travel so far, so no jetlag,” joked Williams.
“We’ve actually spoken in the team and this is probably as big as the gold medal match (at the Olympic Games). We didn’t feel the pressure over there whereas you’re representing your country in your country this weekend. Women’s sport is just growing and growing and we want to be the role models for those girls. To do that on home soil is a lifetime dream.”
Williams and her side have New Zealand in their crosshairs after the Kiwis upset the form book to beat them at the last round of the women’s series in Dubai last December.
“Everyone talks about “revenge” but they also had revenge after the gold-medal match at the Olympics,” said Williams. “The game is changing. There were a lot of new names in Dubai. We go to Sydney and it’s going to be game on, no matter who we play.”
It’s the first time Sydney will host the men’s and women’s combined event and excitement is at fever pitch in the city. For Canadian captains Harry Jones and Ghislaine Landry, it’s an opportunity they want to seize with both hands. It’s the first time Sydney will host the men’s and women’s combined event and excitement is at fever pitch in the city. For Canadian captains Harry Jones and Ghislaine Landry, it’s an opportunity they want to seize with both hands.
Consistency is obviously the biggest focus coming off the back of Wellington,” said Jones. “We left a few things out on the pitch last weekend but we have to attack this weekend with confidence.”
On the women’s side, Landry knows the Canadian women need to improve.
“We weren’t happy with our performance in Dubai. We knew that was going to be a tough tournament and we took some time off after the Olympics, so we weren’t in the best shape.
“We looked at the (analysis) video and there were a few things we worked on, especially in defence, and we’ve put in a lot of hard yards over the last few months.”