A stacked Australian Select 7s side has gone unbeaten on Day 1 at one of the world's most prestigious tournaments - the Fiji Coral Coast 7s.
Hosted over three days in Segitoka's Lawaqa Park, the Coral Coast 7s pits Fiji's top local talent against touring invitational and national sides such as Australia, New Zealand and Samoa.
Watch our Aussies in action at the Coral Coast 7s (January 16-18) via Viti Plus.
The tournament also serves as a trial for World Series fringe players with the main squad preparing for next weekend's Perth SVNS leg at HBF Park (January 24-26).
Dally Bird, Conor Hickey, Henry Palmer and James McGregor lead a strong Australian Select contingent that is well-placed for a title push after registering two tight wins on Day 1.
Olympic gold medallst Alicia Lucas and Stan Sport's Sean Maloney rated Palmer (three tries) and McGregor among their top Day 1 performers.
"Palmer has been electric, really strong finishes off some clever general play kicking, McGregor has been solid and when in space, (Kieren) Mundine has looked dangerous," Lucas told rugby.com.au.
"McGregor had some really nice touches and (Jarrah) McLeod was really strong in game one," Maloney added.
Recap Australia's Day 1 progress below:
A scintillating double from Henry Palmer and Kye Oates' late heroics against Mike Friday's Select has seen Australia go through Day 1 undefeated.
Boasting the likes of Jerry Tuwai, Harry McNulty and Rosco Specman, the all-star Mike Friday's side rocketed out to a 19-7 lead but were stunned by the visiting Aussies with Palmer the chief destroyer either side of oranges.
Trailing three tries to one after Braiden Oates' close-range effort in the third minute, Australia needed a boost and found it down the right wing as Palmer outpaced the covering defence to dot down an Oates set-play kick through.
The 21-year-old then showed pure pace from their first attacking scrum of the second half to scorch past his opposite for the eventual match-winner.
James McGregor's flawless goalkicking and general play was crucial while Kye Oates' last-gasp turnover helped seal the deal in a crucial victory for the Australians.
Australia survived an early scare from local outfit Taikita Brothers to emerge 12-point winners in their first Pool D clash.
The visitors' fightback from a 7-0 deficit started with Brumbies rookie Jarrah McLeod, who latched onto a smart Conor Hickey kick through the defensive line and dotted down for Australia's first try.
Aussie 7s flyer Henry Palmer was next up, icing a 70m counterattacking move by chasing down a Kye Oates kick to put Australia 12-7 up at half time.
Taikita Brothers threatened to break the game open with their physicality but a massive James McGregor play helped turn the tide after oranges, shutting down a 3-1 on his try line to stop a certain five-pointer.
From there, it was one-way traffic as the locals conceded a yellow for tackling Palmer off the ball hot on a Logan Aldridge-sparked counter before Rocco Gollings sealed the contest after a lovely one-two interchange with Christian Papa down the right wing.
The Australian Select 7s involvement at Coral Coast 7s is made possible by PacificAus Sport.
PacificAus Sports is an Australian Government sports diplomacy initiative developing pathways for Pacific teams and athletes to compete in elite competitions and access high performance coaching in Australia and internationally.
The program partners with Australian national sports organisations to support a range of Pacific sports, including rugby league, rugby union, netball, football, AFL, cricket and Olympic/Paralympic sports, with funding split evenly between women and men.
PacificAus Sports also partners with the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) to promote Pacific sport through ABC Television’s 'That Pacific Sports Show' and ABC Radio’s 'Fresh Off The Field'.
The high performance outcomes of PacificAus Sports are complemented by the Australian Government’s program, which focuses on sport for development in the Pacific.
For more information about PacificAus Sports and its initiatives, visit https://www.pacificaussports.gov.au/ and follow PacificAus Sports on Facebook and Instagram.
Logan Aldridge, Dally Bird, Saxon Fenwicke, Rocco Gollings, Conor Hickey, James McGregor, Jarrah McLeod, Christopher Mickelson, Kieren Mundine, Braiden Oates, Kye Oates, Henry Palmer, Christian Papa.
Click here for Australian fixtures + Coral Coast 7s tournament information.
