What’s this then?
Were we so demoralised by describing the travails of Australian international rugby that Australian international rugby decided to do something to lift our spirits?
It is doubtful they gave us much thought, but a definite boost is what we got from learning that both the men and women’s sevens sides had taken the top prizes in the Sydney Sevens.
The men took the title in a magical weekend for Australian rugby that came about as the result of their defeating world number one sevens team South Africa. The final score was 29 – nil, something that almost has skeptics wondering if the Aussies rang in with Kiwis dressed up as Wallabies.
Proof that that was not the case, however, lies in the fact that en route to the victory over South Africa, Andy Friend’s best seven beat the New Zealanders, even though Australia was considered long-odds outsiders.
The win broke a six-year drought on the men’s world series circuit. Now, if they could do something similar with another eight players on the ground…
The Australian women did the men two better, beating New Zealand 31 – nil for their title.
That was a form of redemption for last year, when they disappointed all Australian rugby supporters with a fourth place finish at home.
Even more remarkable, the Aussie women made it through the entire series without giving up one single, solitary point. They are the first team in history to accomplish that feat.
It is time to resurrect the rugby resurgence talk that sprang to life and withered quickly on the vine when the Wallabies beat the All Blacks in the third and undeciding match of last year’s Bledisloe Cup.
This recent business feels entirely different from that. These were no narrow, meaningless wins. These were absolute thumpings of more than several teams that were ranked higher and seemed to be destined for thing better than the ignominy of being shut out in Sydney.
