‘She’s a weapon’: Star winger raises Olympic hopes as Australia’s women win Oceania Sevens

Former Wallaby Lote Tuqiri has described Maddison Levi as a “weapon” after leading Australia to title glory at the Oceania 7s in Brisbane.

Levi scored eight tries over the three-day event as the Australian women’s team recorded four wins and a draw against a strong New Zealand development team before beating Fiji 26-0 in the match for the gold medal in Oceania on Sunday evening.

The former Gold Coast AFLW player scored two tries against Fiji in the final, with her burst runs proving too much to handle.

His form bodes well for Australia heading into the new rugby sevens season, which begins in Dubai in December, and the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

“It’s a weapon,” Tuqiri told Stan.

“Being a former winger myself, all she needs is 1 meter, 2 meters of space and she’s gone.

“She’s an incredible athlete. They need her to be fit and healthy for the season proper and come to Paris next year.”

The Australians were already out of contention to win the Oceania title after losing to Fiji and New Zealand on Saturday.

But they ensured their tournament ended on a high, beating the Cook Islands 47-0 on Sunday to secure seventh place.

New Zealand were crowned Oceania men’s champions after beating Samoa 24-19 in a final that ended with a golden point.

The Océania 7 brought together 25 teams from across the Pacific for 66 matches (35 men’s and 31 women’s) over three days.

For some nations, Olympic qualification was at stake.

For other nations, such as Australia, it was a final tune-up before the season-opening sevens event in Dubai next month.

Fiji’s women’s team secured a place at the Paris Games by beating Papua New Guinea 54-0 in the Olympic qualifying final.

The Samoa men’s team also booked their ticket to Paris with a 31-0 victory over Papua New Guinea in the men’s Olympic qualifier.

PAA