Sevens Superstar Maddison Levi Set for Wallaroos Debut in Landmark 100th Test Against New Zealand

Maddison Levi, the 2024 World Sevens player of the year, is line to make her 15-a-side debut for Australia's Wallaroos this Saturday in Auckland — a Test that doubles as the team's 100th as a women's rugby nation.

Levi, 24, was named among the replacements for the match against New Zealand on August 22, joining fellow sevens converts Tia Hinds, Alysia Lefau-Fakaosilea and Bienne Terita in the matchday squad Rugby Australia. She was one of four potential debutants, alongside Amelia Whitaker, Pia Tapsell and Jemma Bemrose Rugby Australia.

The occasion carries real weight. Australia's first women's Test was in September 1994 at North Sydney Oval, a 37-0 defeat to the same opponent — New Zealand's Black Ferns. In the 30 Tests and 32 years since, Australia have never beaten New Zealand in women's rugby The Guardian.

Levi's CV in the shorter format is extraordinary. She is Australia's reigning record tryscorer in sevens — the seven-a-side variant played in tournaments like the Olympics and World Series — and became only the third woman to score 250 tries on the World Rugby Sevens Series, reaching that mark at 23 Rugby Australia. In June, despite a grade-two medial ligament knee injury, she scored twice in the world championship final against New Zealand in Bordeaux, helping Australia claim the sevens world title The Guardian.

The switch to 15-a-side rugby has not been straightforward. Levi attempted to make the move ahead of the 2025 World Cup but withdrew at the last moment, later calling it the right call The Guardian. She has spoken about working with a psychologist during the 2024 Olympics, which helped her understand the pressure she placed on herself to perform.

Her inclusion now is part of a broader strategy. Rugby Australia is aligning its sevens and 15s programmes ahead of a home Women's World Cup in the 15s format in 2029 and a Brisbane Olympics sevens campaign in 2032 The Guardian. Sione Fukofuka, appointed as Wallaroos head coach this month Nine, now has one of the country's biggest attacking weapons available across both codes of the women's game.

Levi was selected to play off the bench alongside her roommate and fellow sevens teammate, suggesting Fukofuka is easing her into the Test arena rather than throwing her straight into the starting XV Rugby Australia.

For Australia, the challenge is steep. A century of Tests, and not a single win over New Zealand. The Wallaroos travelled across the Tasman on Thursday knowing that ending that drought in Auckland would rank among the biggest results in the team's history.