Sydney University Football Club’s three Australian Sevens representatives have been retained in the 12-man squad for the third leg of the Sevens World Series, to be played at Port Elizabeth, South Africa on December 13-14.
Australian Sevens skipper Ed Jenkins, Greg Jeloudev and Nick Malouf have been retained in the squad after competing in the second leg of the series in Dubai, where Australia finished runners-up to South Africa.
The Australians topped Pool C of the Dubai tournament after defeated Kenya 29-12, the US 26-10 and England 12-5. They then defeated Scotland 22-17 in the quarter-final and pulled of the surprise of the tournament in the semi-final when they rallied from 19-0 down, then 24-12 behind, to draw with Fiji 24-24 and force extra time. Jeloudev was the hero of the moment when he produced the winning try to propel the Australians into the final.
But their undefeated run came to an end when South Africa dominated 33-7. But the second placing elevated Australia to third place on the World Sevens rankings behind South Africa and Fiji going into the third leg of the series.
“Australian Sevens coach Geraint John was proud of the performances in Dubai. “For us to get to a Cup Final was a terrific effort,” he said. “I was a bit disappointed that we allowed Scotland back into the game with a couple of late tries in the quarter-final, but we showed an incredible amount of character to beat Fiji (who won the first leg of the series in Australia).
“It was a huge result for us and I was particularly delighted with the impact our bench had in that game. Nick Malouf, Allan Fa’alava’au and Greg Jeloudev all played big parts for us from the bench.
“There’s no doubt South Africa are a very good side and while I want us to enjoy getting to a Cup Final, it’s now important we recover and prepare well again.”
