A 43-7 thumping by a red-hot United States has shunted Australia’s men out of Sydney Sevens title contention.
Chasing their first world rugby sevens series title in two years, Australia barely touched the ball at Bankwest Stadium as twin speedsters Perry Baker and Carlin Isles scored five tries between them.
Baker led the onslaught, setting up the first inside 10 seconds before Isles subbed in late for a double that rubbed salt into the wounds for Tim Walsh’s men.
Australia trailed 14-7 and were pushing for another try before spilling the ball close to the US line.
Baker scored for the ensuing play and Australia held the ball for mere seconds in the final nine minutes.
The battle between those two and Australia’s converted sprinter Trae Williams never eventuated, with Williams nursing a tight hamstring and replaced by Luke Morahan.
“We were starved of the ball and when we did have it we were lucky to go two phases, so we barely even fired a shot,” Walsh lamented.
“Everything was going their way but that’s where we’ve got to learn to stem it.”
Australia now play for a minor placing, exactly which to be determined by for-and-against totals once the tournament’s pool matches are completed on Sunday.
The loss followed two confidence-boosting wins on Saturday plus a bronze in last weekend’s New Zealand leg.
Walsh said he wouldn’t be overreacting despite the heavy loss ahead of July’s Tokyo Olympics.
“It’s not unusual in sevens; if someone gets beaten you can go into crisis mode but it’s literally what happens in our game,” he said.
“You can get massive wins and massive losses because it’s so volatile.”