Aussies on the coast with gold in mind

Mon, Apr 2, 2018, 8:38 AM
Beth Newman
by Beth Newman
The Australian Women's Sevens squad has touched down on the Gold Coast ahead of the Commonwealth Games. In a game first the women will compete along side the men and are looking to replicate their gold medal result two years ago at the Rio Olympics.

The Aussie Sevens women aren’t worried about having to wait to make their Commonwealth Games debuts.

Australia’s women’s side arrived on the Gold Coast on Monday morning, 11 days before their opening day of competition, with Sevens one of the last events on the calendar.

This schedule is the polar opposite of the 2016 Rio Olympics, where Sevens was one of the first events, with the women claiming an historic first gold medal in the event, a feat they’re hoping to repeat on the Gold Coast.

The team will stay in the athletes’ village until the opening ceremony, then they travel to the Sunshine Coast for some friendlies before returning to the Gold Coast for competition.

Outgoing coach Tim Walsh, who will lead the women for the last time in this tournament, set to take over the men’s reins, said the team wouldn’t be letting the action distract them from their mission.

The Aussie Sevens women took out the Sydney 7s without conceding a single point. Photo: Getty Images

“They're really mature and we are quite resilient,” he said.

“In Sevens you're travelling all around the world, always hitting different curve balls and situations, so nothing's really ever the same.

“As much as you try and control it, you can't.

“They're world-class players and they understand that you have to adapt to certain situations, so they're fully aware we're at the end and there will be distractions left, right and centre and whatnot being a multi-sport event.

“We’ve just got to make sure we're in our performance bubble and we're focusing on our job.

“We're here to work, it's a business trip and that's the approach that we're taking.

“Once we play and the final whistle  goes, we can look up and enjoy everything about the event.”

Australia’s women are no strangers to pressure and have stood up that with ease in dominant World Series performances in Dubai and Sydney this season.

Their Rio success was under a brutal spotlight as well, an experience Walsh said they could take something out of this time around, even with a slightly different lineup.

“I think we learned a lot out of that, the way that we went into it but also the way that the players were put under pressure, handling pressure,” he said.

“I think it certainly puts us in a pretty good position.

“You always have to evolve and the way we prepared for Rio is different for the way we prepare here 1) being at home but also to challenge ourselves to be better.

“There are subtle things but everything we learned from that we can take into this one.”

The Commonwealth Games Sevens tournament kicks off on Friday April 13, running until Sunday April 15.

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