TEAM NEWS: Olympic spot on the line for Aussie women

Fri, May 3, 2019, 2:21 AM
Beth Newman
by Beth Newman
The Aussie women's hopes of automatic qualification into next year’s Tokyo Olympics are still alive but they to put in a solid performance in Langford to remain in the top four.

UPDATED: The chance to seal an Olympic spot at next weekend's Canada Sevens is motivating the Aussie Sevens women after a disappointing Japan finish.

A sixth-place finish in Japan kept them in fourth on the over, just 10 points in front of a rapidly improving French side with two tournaments to go.

The top four teams in the World Series automatically qualify for the Olympics at season's end and  a strong finish in next weekend's Canada Sevens would all but ensure them that berth, something speedster Emma Tonegato says is a huge motivator.

"Any carrot of the Olympics is ginormous and we know we want to qualify so we can relax a little into Biarritz and have that leave period and come back fresh knowing we're qualified already," she said.

"This weekend is kind of the decider for us and we know that and we're ready and we want to solidify our place in that top four. "

The Aussie women have had a mixed season but star Charlotte Caslick, who returned from a four-month injury absence in Kitakyushu, said she was confident they could pull themselves up the pecking order.

Their run has not been too dissimilar than that of the 2015 team, who recorded a seventh place finish in Canada before going on a run that ultimately led to Olympic gold.

"Looking back four years, it was actually Canada, I think we finished seventh or eighth, so there's resemblances from where we are now and where we were then and for us, a positive, we got out of that rut that we were in, so I think the same group can do it again," she said.

"It's nothing to be worried about - as soon as  we get things clicking and really switch on and get those unforced errors out of our game, we'll be back on top I'm sure.


Coach John Manenti has stuck with the team that finished sixth at Kitakyushu last weekend and said he wanted to show faith in his side, with plenty of improvement left in the year leading into Tokyo.

"There are girls pushing and potentially worthy selections there but I wanted to show some faith in the girls who for large parts played really well and it makes it easier not having to reinvent the wheel, making changes, being able to slide back in to that tour mentality that we had," he said.

"You have some strong leadership players that are well-established, you've got some girls fighting for positions in that next tier. I'm really happy with that middle group and the growth that they've had over this season and they're forcing decisions to be made around selections and giving me multiple options.

"The aim if we're going to be on the podium and that sort of thing we've got to continue to grow, we've got to continue to turn good players into world-class players.

"I think probably 12 months our from Rio we probably had a few more closer to being to world-class players than we have at the moment but we've got plenty of room for growth in these girls too.

"There's girls that have only been in the program six months, 12 months and compared to four years back then, so I think we'll get really good growth out of the next 12 months."

The Canada Sevens kicks off on Sunday May 12, AEST, and day one will be streamed LIVE through World Rugby’s digital channels. 

Qantas Australian Women’s Sevens Fixtures, Canada Sevens

Sunday May 12

Australia vs Ireland, 4:06am

Australia vs Brazil, 6:50am 

Australia vs Canada, 9:56am 

SQUAD

1. Samantha Treherne, 5 caps, Griffith University 

2. Sharni Williams (c), 32 caps, University of Canberra 

3. Sariah Paki, 3 caps, Macquarie University 

4. Yasmin Meakes, 7 caps, University of Canberra 

5. Emma Tonegato, 26 caps, University of Adelaide 

6. Evania Pelite, 25 caps, University of Adelaide 

7. Charlotte Caslick (c), 29 caps, Bond University, 

8. Lily Dick, 3 caps, University of Queensland 

9. Emma Sykes, 15 caps, University of Tasmania 

10. Alicia Quirk, 28 caps, University of New England 

11. Mahalia Murphy, 9 caps, University of Adelaide 

12. Ellia Green, 23 caps, University of Tasmania 

13th TBC 

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