Maddison Levi went past Portia Woodman-Wickliffe into second spot on the all-time try-scoring list as Australia's women powered past Fiji and into the semi-finals of the HSBC SVNS World Championships in Hong Kong. Australia will now meet France in the semi-finals on Sunday afternoon (AEST) for a spot in the final.
Watch the 2025-2026 HSBC SVNS Series live and on demand via Stan Sport. After the Aussies survived a scare in their final pool match of the tournament against Canada, Levi crossed for a double in the quarter-final to now sit only second behind Michaela Brake with 258 World Series tries.
Teagan Levi also got in on the fun with a double as the Fijians struggled with discipline, twice copping yellow cards. Earlier, the Aussies were forced to chase their final pool game after Canada's Charity Williams scored twice for a 12-0 lead in the first half. But Faith Nathan and Teagan Levi, on either side of the break, levelled the scores, with Nathan getting her second with three minutes left for the lead. Canada wouldn't die easily, crossing for a five-pointer with 90 seconds left, but they missed the kick and the Aussies held on.
"The main thing we're celebrating is the win,'' Maddison Levi said.
"It's awesome to get through to the semi-finals and these individual achievements, but to get through with the girls and hopefully gold in Hong Kong is the goal for the weekend.''
In the men's draw, Australia went down 19-5 to Spain in their quarter-final and will fight for position in Hong Kong. The results set up a fifth-placed playoff with Fiji on Sunday afternoon.
Earlier in the day, Australia once again nabbed trans-Tasman bragging rights, with a Dietrich Roache double giving them a 12-7 win over New Zealand. Roache broke the game open in the second half, first kicking for himself before finishing off in the corner after Henry Hutchison's long break. Their defence was relentless again, stopping the Kiwis late charge to top their pool.
