A FEW hours after they secured a historic first world series, Australian womens sevens coach Tim Walsh was happy to see an emotion he knew would fuel his side’s drive to the Rio Olympics.

Elation? Satisfaction?

Try devastation.

“To see how much they hurt from losing, that’s what really makes me confident in the group,” Walsh said.

The Aussies returned home to a hero’s welcome on Wednesday after winning the 2015-16 world’s women’s sevens series at the weekend, in the final tournament in France.

Having won three of the previous four tournaments, the Aussie girls only needed to beat Spain in the quarter-finals to win points and secure the series ahead of rivals New Zealand.

But the newly crowned champs went on to lose to Canada in the final, later in the day. They were genuinely gutted, Walsh said.

“They really, really hate losing and that is a great indicator there won’t be an ounce of complacency in this team,” Walsh said.

“It didn’t really cost us anything to lose ... but every time they play for Australia, they are such a competitive bunch. They want to win.

“So to see how they hurt was really pleasing.”

A ceremony at the ARU’s headquarters in Sydney on Wednesday feted the Aussies but with the big prize of an Olympic gold medal still hovering in the distance, the warm celebration still had a muted, job-half-done vibe.

media_camera Ellia Green and Chloe Dalton were two of the stars of the Aussie success.

With 66 days to prepare for Rio, co-captain Shan Parry said the team may come to view in the loss in the final to Canada as a positive.

“It was good for us — it was a kick in the arse,” Parry said.

“Our rivals are right behind us and closing, and sevens is a funny game where any team can win on any day. So it was a good kick up the backside.

“This is a bit of a weird feeling for us. If this was the end of a season it would be mass celebrations for us but we only have 66 days to Rio. Celebrations will be short lived and we are looking forward to Rio.”

Having steered the squad for three years from their early, formative days of fulltime professionalism, Walsh said he was confident his players now had the maturity and experience to not entertain complacency in the next two months.

That much was seen when the world series win was celebrated with crepes the next morning, instead of a big night in Clermont on the champagne.

Walsh believes not only do his squad not have the game to win gold but the ability to improve their game before Rio.

And while other nations dismiss winning the world series in an Olympic year, Walsh said consistency of performance — and the success that follows — is a huge advantage.

“Three years ago we wrote down what an Australian womens sevens Olympic player should look like. A big one was we wanted winning experience,” Walsh said.

“For most of them, they have now won six tournaments so they know what it takes to win, and to hold that composure in a final.

“It will be a different pressure at the Olympics but that certainly gives me the confidence they know how to win.”

Originally published as Final hurt keeps Aussies focused on Rio prize