Flying colours Aussie womens sevens team make thumping Olympic return

Australia’s women’s sevens team made a statement on their Olympic return with two commanding wins â€" while co-captain Sharni Williams made one of her own through her rainbow-coloured headgear.

The Rio 2016 champions opened their campaign in Tokyo with a dazzling 48-0 rout of Japan on Thursday morning and a 26-10 carve-up of China in the evening.

Charlotte Caslick bursts past the China defence.Credit:Getty

A much sterner test is expected at 11.30am on Friday against the United States, their final Group C fixture, but it has been close to a faultless start by Australia, who have five players in their squad backing up from the last Games.

The usual suspects were excellent. Chiefly Williams and Charlotte Caslick, who both helped turn the tide after China shocked the Aussies with the opening try in their match.

Williams was wearing the colourful custom headgear she’d foreshadowed before the Games which is intended as a nod to LGBT+ inclusivity, and was moved to tears when asked how it felt to actually wear it in Olympic competition.

“It’s a bit emotional, actually,” she told Seven. “It’s been quite a journey and it’s very very special to me, my community’s behind me out there. This doesn’t just protect me and give me that confidence when I go out there, but it gives some little kid that’s out there struggling with visibility and who they are that courage to come out and accept themselves.”

Sharni Williams with her rainbow headgear.Credit:Getty

Caslick set the tone for a dominant day with Australia’s opening try against the home nation after just 40 seconds at a scorching Tokyo Stadium â€" the first of eight for the match, highlighted by an Emma Tonegato hat-trick.

“I definitely was concerned about this game. Japan, playing at home, it would be very emotional for them and the pressures and expectations could have built on us,” coach John Manenti said.

“But I was really pleased with that clinical first half. We could relax at the end of the game and give a few of the girls debuts.”

One of those was Maddison Levi, who capped the occasion off with a second-half double.

“We know Maddi can run,” said Manenti. “She is still raw and has a lot to learn, so we’ll manage her tenderly over the weekend and give her opportunities at the right time. But you can see she can run fast when she gets hands on the ball and she’s a weapon. She’s here to contribute and she’s done that.”

China proved to be a much pricklier opponent, taking the lead just two minutes in after Feifei Yang won a penalty and darted for the left corner, escaping the desperate clutches of Caslick.

The Aussies responded to the challenge with the next four tries but China refused to give up and landed a late consolation blow on the siren through Minglin Tan.

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Vince is a sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.

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