Australia dreams of home success as SVNS head to Perth

After three rounds of the HSBC SVNS Series, the race for the top spots is heating up as the series moves to Perth this weekend.

In the women’s competition, New Zealand currently leads with 58 points with just a two-point advantage but Australia will be looking to defend their Perth crown by clinching a win on home soil and putting on a show for the local fans.

Following their victory against France in Singapore’s final showdown last week, the Flying Fijians are aiming to continue their winning streak and maintain their position atop the men’s league standings just ahead of New Zealand. 

Fiji will take on South Africa, Spain and Argentina in Pool A when the tournament gets under way in Australia while France head a tough-looking Pool B that includes New Zealand, Australia and Great Britain.

In the women’s competition, Singapore champions New Zealand have been pitted against USA, Fiji and Japan in Pool A while beaten Singapore finalists Australia will face Canada, France and Great Britain in Pool B.

Madison Ashby, captain of the Australian women’s team, said: “We love playing in Perth and the girls did a great job last year winning the title. Now we’re looking to go back-to-back. You can’t beat a home crowd, and we’re fortunate to be one of only a couple of nations to play on home soil each year.”

Henry Hutchison, captain of the Australian men’s team, added: “It’s nice to be back in Perth on home soil. We’re ready to put in a good performance in front of our local fans and family who are travelling from all parts of the country. We were pleased with how we played on the second day in Singapore and want to carry that momentum into this weekend.”

Meanwhile, the past seven months have been “unreal” for Will Cartwright, with the young flier going from club rugby in Queensland to shining on the global HSBC SVNS series. A high-flying progression that he has no intention of stopping, especially now he is back on Australian soil. 

“I think we can definitely win it, it’s our first focus, winning the tournament,” Cartwright said ahead of the HSBC SVNS in Perth. 

“We’ve got some unreal talent, some young boys, like Aden Ekanayake – what he can do, he should be in the Team of the Year by the end of it. 

“His athleticism and his maturity at 20 is unbelievable. A lot of the younger boys stepping up will take us a long way because the older boys are doing their job.” 

Cartwright may only be 22, and one of four men’s players to already make their SVNS debut for Australia this season, but there is no doubt that Cartwright is one of those ‘doing his job’. 

Scorer of both tries in a brilliant 14-0 semi-final victory over France in Dubai, Cartwright also scored in the agonising 26-22 gold-medal match defeat to New Zealand in that season-opener. 

Further strong performances followed, particularly in Singapore, as Australia grabbed victories over Argentina, Spain and Great Britain — great moments that seemed a long way off little more than a year ago, when Cartwright, and indeed fellow SVNS newbie Ethan McFarland, were eying up very different futures.

“We were both sparkies back up in Brisbane, so this is different to, you know, crawling around roofs,” Cartwright said. “Late 2024 I finished my last exam [to qualify as an electrician] and then got a call from (Queensland) Reds to go into the academy. So quit then and basically gave the whole year to focus on rugby. I just thought, if I don’t do it, I’ll regret it. 

“It’s the dream. I’m not too keen to get back on the tools in Queensland’s 35 degrees heat. It’s pretty easy motivation for me; I don’t think you could find me complaining much about anything I’m doing right now.” 

An invitation to an Australia sevens combined training week, hosted by veteran Hutchison, changed everything. Having found his form on the wing with first the Brothers Rugby Club, a Queensland grade outfit, and then the Reds, Cartwright grabbed the opportunity and ran with it. 

“It was high pressure, obviously,” Cartwright said. “You watch those boys on the World Series, and then you’re playing against them, and obviously with them. I was lucky enough to be on (Maurice) Longbottom’s team, which made it a bit easier, but at the same time I was up against Hutch.

“It was very intense. Obviously, the pressure of those 10 or 12 external boys all fighting for three or four contracts. Obviously, everyone wants the same thing — they want the best job in the world.” 

Cartwright got it and has ‘loved’ the first three HSBC SVNS events in Dubai, Cape Town and Singapore. Extra time in training, plus an early year excursion to Fiji to get more games under the belts of Australia’s youngsters is all helping. But the endlessly high-end nature of the HSBC SVNS series means there have been plenty of bumps to deal with, alongside those heartening wins. 

“I think it showed how quickly fine margins can snowball into bad performances — there weren’t many performances we were happy with,” Cartwright said of the second leg in Cape Town, when Australia lost to Argentina, Spain, France and New Zealand. 

“We definitely didn’t deliver on what we needed to. So, yeah, I guess it shouldn’t have been, but it was just a wake-up call that there’s eight teams and any of those teams on their day will put 30 points on you.” 

Recovery in Singapore has placed Australia fifth in the table, eight points behind France and South Africa. And crucially, the team has the glorious carrot of playing in front of home fans in the coming days. 

“I remember going to the Gold Coast sevens when I was younger, watching Charlotte Caslick and a few other boys, like Henry Hutchison, and I suppose it’s a ‘pinch-me’ moment that I’ll be on the field playing in front of the stands,” Cartwright said. 

“Obviously we want to win it in front of a home crowd. That would be a dream come true.”