Australia Sevens co-captain Madison Ashby says the side is looking within in order to take down the ladder-leading Black Ferns in Valladolid.
The Aussies enter the second leg of the World Championship motivated to turn the tide after a series of finals defeats to the Kiwis.
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Last month's 19-14 defeat in Hong Kong was the closest they have come in recent history after a late rally fell short. Maddison Levi crossed to reduce the lead with seconds remaining, and while they forced the mistake from New Zealand, time had expired a fraction of a second earlier.
The comeback came after they were reduced to six following a dangerous tackle by Teagan Levi, one of four they gave away in a four-minute period either side of the break.
“We're our own worst enemies. We haven't helped very much with our penalty rate so far," Ashby said to Rugby.com.au.
“I think we've been very disciplined in these last two weeks, and we're going to go out there, do the one percenters and play our game because I know we can win, and I know we're letting ourselves down right now, so it’s exciting what’s about to come.
“I think [it’s about] just sticking to the basics in those moments, taking a minute, actually thinking about what we're doing, not rushing it. We've done plenty of practice there in the last two weeks so I think that’s one thing we’re going to be looking at these two tournaments.”
The Aussies have not missed a final all season but have constantly found themselves on the other side of Kiwi success.
Since their title success in Cape Town in December, Tim Walsh's side have been defeated by the Black Ferns in the last five events, with each loss fueling the fire in Ashby and the squad.
“Everyone hates losing, so it definitely feeds motivation," she admits.
“It hurts a lot in the moment, but then coming back to training we know we need to put our boots on and get going again because we've got another job.”
The focus remains on winning the SVNS World Championship, with the Australians just two points behind the Kiwis.
But for Ashby, there are other exciting moments on the horizon, as she announced her engagement to NRL star Kaeo Weekes in December.
“He is one of my biggest supporters in life so it's been easy pretty much with him. He just supports me in whatever I do, and getting engaged with him was just our next step in our relationship, and we both felt ready for it," she said. “He supported me my whole entire ACL journey, and he saw what I had to go through, and I've seen what he's had to go through so I think we just blend very well together.”
