The third 2024/25 season World Rugby Sevens Series tournament was contested in Perth across the Australia Day long weekend and the hosts treated their home fans to a memorable three days as the men’s and women’s teams both qualified for their respective grand finals.
The Aussie women celebrated grand final glory for the second time this season as they beat New Zealand 28-24 after the men’s team, which included Narrabri’s Sid Harvey, had gone down 41-5 against Argentina.
For 19-year-old Harvey, it was a dream come true to pull on the green and gold on home soil after he had lined up at the previous two tournaments in Dubai and Cape Town.
The Aussie men had finished in seventh and ninth place at those events, respectively, but a home crowd urged them on to their best finish so far in Perth.
Harvey told The Courier that he had never experienced anything quite like the feeling of running out to the roaring sound of so many fans.
“Getting to play in front of 20-30 thousand people is pretty cool,” he said.
“It’s definitely the biggest crowd I’ve ever played in front of. It was similar to Cape Town, but they were all cheering for us.
“The crowd definitely helped us. At your home tournament, you have to step up and find that little bit extra for your home fans.
“We had a really big focus over the whole weekend on getting better each game and showing that grit that we have been known for but we hadn’t really shown in the first two tournaments.
“We showed that with some of the try-savers and some of the boys’ efforts.
“We were fighting for each other.
“The home crowd and looking up and hearing your family cheer for you makes it a lot easier to get up and go again.
“Not many people get to play for Australia. I feel honoured and lucky and grateful that I get to.”
The tournament was an even more memorable one for Sid as he scored his first try for the Aussie sevens team with a 50-metre runaway effort in their first match on Friday, with his mother Carmel and sisters Mae and Josie cheering him on.
“We were down by 20-odd points when I scored my first try but I knew where the family were sitting, and Josie wanted me to do a celebration if I scored, so I gave them a little wave,” Harvey said.
“It was really nice to score that first try, and it was special to have my family there.”
Harvey then scored a crucial try on Saturday in their semi-final that saw the Aussies equalise and force extra time against South Africa.
The Aussie men were in danger of missing the quarter-finals after they suffered close losses in their first two pool matches on Friday.
They went down 31-26 to Argentina and then 10-7 against South Africa to sit at the bottom of pool A, but they bounced back in their third game to beat USA 19-12 on Saturday to finish ranked third.
That saw them qualify for the top eight and book a quarter-final showdown against Cape Town runners-up France. The Aussies outscored them four tries to two and two goals to one to win 26-12 and earn a semi-final berth for the first time this season.
They met South Africa in a Pool A rematch on Australia Day and won 17-12 in extra time. After trailing 12-7 late in the contest, Harvey crossed for his second try of the tournament with less than two minutes remaining to send the match into overtime. Aden Ekanayake then scored the winner two minutes into the added period to send the Aussies into the decider.
Argentina entered that showdown in red-hot form, with a shock 24-19 loss against USA in the pool stage the only blemish on their record in Perth. They had demolished Spain 40-5 in their semi-final earlier in the day on Sunday and were just as dominant in the decider as they beat the Aussies 41-5.
The second-place finish saw Sid and his Australian teammates climb into sixth on the overall 12-team rankings after they entered the Perth event in eighth.
They will be looking to climb even higher when they go in search of their first grand final victory in the fourth tournament of the season, which will be held in Vancouver from Friday to Sunday, February 21 to 23.
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