Maurice Longbottom is set to return home to Australia and spend time on the sidelines with a hamstring injury, as the Australian Men’s and Women’s Sevens sides confirmed their squads for the Cape Town 7s this weekend.
The Aussies will be looking for a swift response following both sides losing in the final to New Zealand in Dubai, with running repairs to both sides.
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The women’s side will see three changes to the outfit that took the field in the UAE, with Sariah Paki, Tia Hinds and Kaitlin Shave dropping out of the squad.
In their place, Kahli Henwood, Kiiahla Duff and Bridget Clark will all join the starting outfit in Cape Town following their impressive performances for Australia A that saw them take home the Women’s Invitational Title in Dubai.
"Managing short, medium and long-term goals, our program strategy remains unchanged after our Dubai campaign,” Australia Women's Sevens coach Tim Walsh said.
"I am confident in picking any one of our fit players.
“This week I have made three changes and brought in Kiiahla Duff, Kahli Henwood and Bridget Clark, who have all come off a great Australia A victory in Dubai."
For the men, Maurice Longbottom’s omission with a hamstring injury is a major loss of experience; however, coach Liam Barry is set to bring in the versatile Ben Dowling back into the side for Cape Town.
It’ll be one of two changes for the men, with Hadley Tonga also dropping out and rookie Beau Morrison named to make his debut for the side.
"I was very pleased with the effort and grit shown by a young group last week,” Australia Men’s Sevens coach Liam Barry said.
"The team were bitterly disappointed to lose the final but realise we are still not clinical enough at certain times.
“They are an inexperienced group with three debutants and five players playing less than 10 tournaments.
"It was a proud moment for Ethan, Will, Harry and their families as they represented Australia for the first time
"Looking forward to Cape Town this weekend, where we welcome Ben Dowling back and a possible debut for Beau Morrison."
Australia Women have drawn France, Canada and Japan in the pool matches, while Australia Men will meet Argentina, Spain and France for the final tournament of 2025.
Australia Women
2. Amahli Hala – 3 events
3. Faith Nathan – 33 events
4. Mackenzie Davis – 7 events
5. Teagan Levi – 26 events
6. Madison Ashby (c) – 26 events
10. Isabella Nasser (c) – 18 events
12. Maddison Levi – 27 events
13. Heidi Dennis – 7 events
14. Bridget Clark – 7 events
15. Kahli Henwood 7 events
22. Bienne Terita – 17 events
23. Ruby Nicholas – 11 events
28. Kiiahla Duff – 7 events
Australia Men
1. Henry Hutchison (c) – 60 events
2. Ben Dowling – 21 events
3. James McGregor – 3 events
4. Dietrich Roache – 29 events
7. Josh Turner – 38 events
9. Will Cartwright – 1 event
10. Ben Dalton – 10 events
13. Jayden Blake – 7 events
22. Beau Morrison* – debut
23. Aden Ekanayake – 8 events
24. Ethan McFarland – 1 event
33. Harry Wilson – 1 event
77. Wallace Charlie – 2 events
Players unavailable for selection
Charlotte Caslick (personal reasons)
Demi Kennewell (knee) – Vancouver 7s
Michael Icely (shoulder) – Vancouver 7s
Alysia Lefau-Fakaosilea (shoulder) – Vancouver 7s
Maurice Longbottom (hamstring) – TBC
Henry Paterson (knee) – 2026/2027 season
James Turner (foot) – Vancouver 7s
Australia Women
- Saturday, December 6: Australia v France (7:22pm AEDT)
- Saturday, December 6: Australia v Canada (10:38pm AEDT)
- Sunday, December 7: Australia v Japan (2:04am AEDT)
Australia Men
- Saturday, December 6: Australia v Argentina (9:00pm AEDT)
- Sunday, December 7: Australia v Spain (12:16am AEDT)
- Sunday, December 7: Australia v France (3:57am AEDT)
