Australia have started their quest for Youth Olympics Games gold with a pair of victories in the opening day of action in Dakar.
The Aussies swept aside Senegal 32-0 before being forced to dig deep to take down China 21-15 to stay unbeaten, dealing with six players for the majority of the game.
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WA product Mia Shelley was the hero, scoring the game winner after the Chinese took a 15-14 lead with three minutes remaining.
It came after a red card to Keira Callaghan in the first half, receiving two yellow cards.
Layne Prince, the niece of NRL legend Scott, created the break after helping Australia to a 14-0 lead, with Shelley racing clear to secure the crucial win.
“China always show up, but we just showed up more. I think every single girl on that field put in everything they could, and it really showed through our defence,” skipper Aimee Henry said post-match.
“I couldn’t be more proud of the girls. To captain a team like this, it’s unreal, and full credit to the girls because that last two minutes was some of the best footy I’ve ever seen.”
Australia started their day with a shutout of the hosts, powered to the 32-0 win thanks to a dominant second half.
Tries to Darci Turinui, daughter of former Wallaby Morgan, and Te Rina-Jade Murray gave the Aussies a 10-0 lead at the break before they kicked in second gear.
Shelley led the way with a second half double, whilst tries to replacements Grace Buchanan and Talia Berryman helped seal the comfortable win.
Australia will turn their attention to Kenya (9:02 pm November 3), who are also undefeated in the pool stages, with the finals to follow
“I think we just focus on ourselves, control the controllables, get a good night’s sleep tonight, eat well, and we go again," Henry believes.
"Leave this day in the past, and tomorrow’s a new day, and we finish what we started.”
In Pool B, Madagascar and Czechia are the undefeated teams, sweeping their matches against the USA and Spain.
Meanwhile, France took out the men's competition, defeating South Africa 26-19.
