Payback boosts sevens credentials

Jim Morton, AAP October 3, 2010, 2:46 pm

Australia's battle-scarred rugby sevens squad fly to Delhi on Tuesday knowing they are legitimate Commonwealth Games contenders after finally overcoming their bogey team, world champions Samoa.
Michael O'Connor's injury-hit outfit produced a backs-to-the-wall 34-12 triumph over the world's No.1-ranked team and Games favourites to win the Oceania Sevens Championships in Darwin.
While Samoa rested some of their stars, the young and improving Australians only had eight fit players in scoring six tries to two on Saturday night to shift the one last monkey from their back.
The Samoans won all four encounters between the two sides in last season's IRB's world series, including two knockout thrillers when the Australians were sunk by a last-ditch sideline conversion in Dubai and fell to another heart-breaker in the Las Vegas final when a conversion hit the post and went in for a 14-12 defeat.
"They're the only team we haven't beaten so psychologically that's a great boost for us," O'Connor told AAP.
"They're also the only other side to have beaten New Zealand apart from us so it gives us great confidence going to Delhi."
After starting the eight-nation tournament without recovering five-eighth Bernard Foley (ankle) and Western Force flyer Nick Cummins (shoulder), Australia were reduced to eight men when Kimami Sitauti and Liam Gill injured their ankles on day one and Wallabies winger Lachie Turner rolled his warming up for the final.
Cummins and Foley are expected to be fit for the first of the Games pool matches on October 11 while O'Connor cleared the rest to make the trip to India where Australia start as third favourites.
"They're all walking around fine now but we just couldn't risk them leading into the Commonwealth Games," he said.
"We even had to call up some local players to sit on the bench.
"From that point of view it was a good character test and the boys came through really well."
In Foley's absence, Queensland Reds winger Luke Morahan was a star as a makeshift playmaker, earning the player of the tournament award and crossing for a double in the final.
"To win here was great especially with the number of guys we had injured," Morahan said.
"I definitely think we've proven we are medal contenders in Delhi."
Despite Samoa's status, O'Connor rates arch-rivals New Zealand, who have won all three Commonwealth Games gold medals, as the team to beat.

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