Playing in green and gold for the first time since fracturing thumb in a freak accident at Perth in January, Levi started where she left off, lighting up Hong Kong’s brand new national stadium with a hat trick for the Australian women’s 54-12 demolition of Spain. Three hours later, Levi went one better, scoring all of four Australian trials in the team’s 26-15 win over Paris Olympic silver medalists Canada to secure her side’s place in Saturday’s quarter-finals at the opening of the 50,000 Kai Tak Sports Park stadium. With her seven tries, Levi lifted her career tally to 189 - surpassing Charlotte Caslick’s Australian record of 186. “Charlotte’s been my idol and she’s been my mentor throughout all the years,” Levi said. “For her to be able to help me get to the level I’m able to play at is pretty awesome. “But records don’t really matter to me. It’s just about getting the win.” No woman or man in rugby, league or Sevens has scored as many tries in Australia’s colours thanthe freakishly talented Levi, who is on pace to crack the 200 barrier this weekend and eventually eclipse the all-time record of 264 held by New Zealand’s Michaela Brake. The World Sevens Player of the Year in 2024, Levi leads this season’s try scoring lists with 37 tries despite missing half the Australian leg the entire last round in Vancouver. National coach Tim Walsh said having Levi back in his lineup was almost an unfair advantage for the Aussie, but one he was glad to have. “We call her cheat code, iconic or whatever,” Walsh said. “It’s pretty handy to have someone who you know when she gets the ball, her strike rate’s at about 50% whether she scores or not so the more times you get the ball in her hands the better. “But we do have to earn the right for that. We do have to make sure that we’re doing some electric movement and creating a little bit of space for her to do her magic.” Levi said was feeling unusually nervous about returning to the team after her injury layoff but her anxiety helped her grow a leg as she completely overpowered her opponents through her superior strength and speed. “Just having a little bit of a break, you kind of second-guess your ability and doubt yourself,” she said. “If I score a try, I score a try, but it’s not really my sole focus. It’s about how I can contribute to the team to get a win.” Originally published as Maddison Levi scores seven tries on opening day of Hong Kong Rugby Sevens, sets Aussie record