Maddison Levi: Ultimate Sevens is 'Perfect' challenge as Australian superstar eyes 2028 Olympic Gold

The 24-year-old has established herself as one of the most devastating players in the global game ahead of the inagural Ultimate Sevens Championship, rewriting the women's sevens record books while successfully beginning her transition into 15-a-side rugby with the Wallaroos.

Levi has won a World SVNS Series title, Commonwealth Games gold and the 2022 Rugby Sevens World Cup, while scoring an Olympic-record 14 tries at Paris 2024 as Australia suffered defeat in the Bronze Final. She was subsequently named World Rugby Women's Sevens Player of the Year.

But with LA28 now firmly on the horizon, there is still one prize that the Gold Coast product is desperate to add to her collection.

“To get to [Los Angeles 2028] or to just to win an Olympic gold, those are the things that are next to my goals,” Levi told RUCK. “And as an athlete, you always look for the next challenge and the next goal.”

Levi's pursuit of that Olympic dream comes at a fascinating stage in her career, with the Australian having recently expanded her horizons into 15-a-side rugby and earned her Wallaroos debut against New Zealand, in what marked the historic 100th test for the Australian Women's team.

Before turning her attention towards the road to Los Angeles, however, she has embraced another new challenge in the form of the inaugural Ultimate Sevens Championship, joining Pacific Current as the franchise's female marquee player. The competition brings together some of the leading players in the global game, with newly formed franchises creating unusual combinations of teammates and opponents from the international sevens circuit.

For Levi, that opportunity to learn from players she would normally be trying to beat is one of the biggest attractions. “I think the most exciting thing for me is being able to pick the brains of my opposition as an athlete and as a rugby player,” she explained.

“I'm always trying to strive to get better and challenge myself. So having the ability to play alongside such amazing and incredible athletes and see how they go about their routine and how they go about their game is something that's really exciting for me to help grow as a rugby player.

“And this is a perfect experience. It's like such a niche experience. I guess sevens itself is niche that you spend time in the hotels with the teams you play against. “But to be in a team with the girls you play against is something that's really awesome.”

Pacific Current have been piecing together their squad from a mixture of international talent, with Fijian, Brazilian and Australian influences expected to shape the team's identity. That blend has already given Levi an idea of how the side could look on the field, with the Australian expecting a fast-paced approach centred around keeping the ball alive.

“I was actually practising my offloads, and the Fijians go, ‘No, no, no. It just happens naturally,’ and I was like, 'Oh, I don't know about me,” she joked. “But I think using the strengths that we have, we obviously have a good, strong foundation in Fijians, and then a strong foundations in the Brazilians and the Australians.

“So I think just kind of we all play very similar. Such a fast-paced game. We all love to keep the ball in play and keep it alive. “So I don't think we'll shy away from that this weekend. Then it's not really a matter of changing how we play or changing rugby. I think it's a matter of just how, like, how we can connect on the field and off the field.

“That plays a big part because if you're not connected, it doesn't matter what style you do because you're not going to play for each other.”

That connection has been the priority during Pacific Current's preparation in Madrid, with Levi explaining that the squad have deliberately focused on building relationships rather than attempting to overhaul their rugby in a matter of days. The unusual nature of Ultimate Sevens means players from different countries and playing environments have had to quickly learn each other's personalities, habits and styles.

“I think everyone was a little bit jealous of our schedule because we only had to train one day while we were there,” Levi said. "Everyone was on three or four days, and as I said, like our main focus was to build that culture and that connection. You're not going to change rugby skills drastically in the first four days. You're not going to change your fitness levels.

“So it's a matter of how you can get to know the person. That's when we're playing inside and outside of Ultimate Sevens. So we did a lot of team-building stuff, a lot of mini games, a lot of culture-building stuff, and just learning and picking each other's brains. So then, when we were on the field, we were able to know how each other plays or why they play and the meaning behind why and who they play for.”

One of the players Levi is particularly excited to line up alongside is Fijian star Reapi Ulunisau, with the Fijian already envisaging herself operating off her teammate's shoulder. The partnership should offer Pacific Current plenty of attacking threat, with Levi keen to give her Fijian teammate the confidence to express herself while remaining ready to exploit whatever space she creates.

“To be fair, I said straight off the back, she's one person I'd love to play with,” Levi said. “Although she says 'my game plan is to just get the ball to Maddie', and I said, ‘Oh, I might let her know that she'll be running some full length tries, and I won't be there!’

"I love the Fijian culture and the style of rugby that they play. They grow up with a rugby ball in their hands, and it's something that I love about them. They're so happy, and just how she plays, I'm really excited to run off the back of her, and I know she's electric on the field.

“So I think for me, it's just giving her the confidence to back herself. I'll play off her. That’s what I do best is following the inside girls and playing and running off the inside girls. For her, I think she needs to have some confidence that she can do what she wants, and I'll be there off a hip to help her.”

Levi has also been impressed by the Brazilian contingent, with Bianca Silva standing out for her dedication to the sport and ability to continue performing at the highest level.

"The Brazilians, Bianca Silva, she's been a massive standout and just her dedication to the craft. It shows that she's still going as good as she is, and she's able to uphold herself on the series, so I'm really excited to play alongside her.”

While Ultimate Sevens represents a new experience for Levi, the Australian arrives with an international résumé that few players in the competition can match. She was a shock inclusion in Australia's Olympic squad for Tokyo at just 19-years-old before spearheading a remarkable 2022 campaign that saw Australia claim the World Series title, Commonwealth Games gold and the Rugby World Cup Sevens.

Levi's try-scoring continued to reach extraordinary levels, with her becoming the fastest Australian woman to 100 World Series tries before shattering the women's single-season record with 69 tries during the 2023/24 campaign.

She then scored 14 times at the Paris Olympics and was crowned World Rugby's Women's Sevens Player of the Year. Yet for all those individual milestones, Levi insists she rarely pays attention to the numbers.

“I don't keep track, so that's what makes it exciting,” she said. “I think, for me, it's not a matter of I'm going out there to score. I try to score tries, but not to break records.

“If I need to tackle the whole game, I'm going to tackle the whole game. If I need to win the ball back, it's ultimately at the end of the day, the job I need to do to help the team get to a win.

“So for those milestones, it's pretty awesome to be able to help the team win and then achieve such big things in such a short time.

“No one ever really knows if I'm close to something [try-scoring record], and then it's afterwards when it gets posted. Everyone celebrates, the girls make me feel very special. That's for sure.”

Her Player of the Year award in 2024 was particularly significant, coming at a stage when Levi still considered herself to be learning the game. It was only later, when her achievements were physically put in front of her, that she began to appreciate quite how much she had already accomplished.

“Yeah, it was definitely significant,” Levi said. “I think I said I was still learning the game of rugby at the time, so that was pretty exciting. “I think for me, while you're in your career, I don't think you really realise how much of your career, you've achieved.

“It's awesome, but I want to keep striving, so it's definitely up there with the best thing that's ever happened to me.”

That hunger for improvement is now being channelled towards LA28, with Levi determined to use every new experience to develop as an athlete before Australia's next Olympic campaign. Her route towards that goal has already taken her beyond the traditional sevens environment, with her recent Wallaroos debut marking another major step in a career that has repeatedly crossed sporting boundaries.

The move into rugby began after an earlier stint with Aussie Rules, with Levi having been drafted by the Gold Coast Suns before ultimately returning her focus to rugby. Rather than viewing that experience as a separate chapter, she believes her time in the AFLW — alongside an upbringing in dance — helped create many of the physical qualities that now define her game.

“I think I am the athlete I am because of the sports I've grown up doing and the sports I've been fortunate enough to be a part of,” she explained. "I think AFL has played such a huge role in that. The ability to compete for the restarts, I think, and get off the ground whilst being able to play AFL, such a 360 game.

“I grew up dancing as well, so I think that helps with my spatial awareness and my core strength and staying on, light on my feet.”

Now those skills will be put to the test in yet another new environment, with Ultimate Sevens bringing together a collection of freshly assembled teams and a format designed to create plenty of jeopardy.

The Australian has already experienced the Olympic stage twice, tasted bronze in Paris and collected almost every other major honour available to her. But with Los Angeles 2028 approaching, Levi knows there is still one medal missing. And the Ultimate Sevens experiment could provide another valuable step on the road towards finally putting Olympic gold around her neck.