The success of Australia A’s winning run in Dubai has produced an instant reward with standout Bella Nasser being drafted into the Cape Town Sevens squad.
The 20-year-old daughter of former Wallaby Brendan Nasser guaranteed her elevation to the country’s world-leading side with a string of influential performances.
The call-up puts the powerful runner and pilferer deluxe on the cusp of an exciting debut in the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series.
While Australia’s top team was making a winning statement last weekend in Dubai to open the new series, a tournament with significance of its own was running concurrently.
An Australia A side stormed through six matches in the Dubai heat to show off the country’s fresh depth in sevens by claiming the International Invitation tournament for women.
After years where such ventures were stymied by COVID disruptions, the A team relished the chance to travel and test themselves against the varied styles of opponents from five different countries.
Queenslanders Nasser and Kahli Henwood plus pacy Bridget Clark, from Sydney’s Burra Rays club, are all contracted players in the wider Australian sevens squad. All thrived on the workload of games, rather than sitting at home.
“Bella showed off her power game. She made some crucial turnovers in an exceptional semi-final performance and backed it up by playing the full 14 minutes of the final,” Australia A coach Reg Tayler enthused.
“There was always a plan for her to go on to Cape Town, while the rest of the team returned home, and she now does that with real form on the board.
“Kahli made a really good return after a quadriceps injury. She won back a number of kick-offs with her good aerial skills.
“Bridget is still in her teens. She has a huge future and she was scoring a try a game with her speed as an edge finisher.
“There was huge value to this tour in so many ways. We had young players getting really good experience in playing and preparing for a tournament in the desert after the years of COVID disruptions.
“They got to test themselves against the different styles of South African, American, Japanese, Kenyan and Czech Republic opposition.
“On top of that, we are developing a depth of players which is key to the long-term health of our women’s sevens program.”
Australian sevens coach Tim Walsh always wisely pushes the idea of “building an army underneath” when he talks of the depth needed to sustain success beyond the top 13 women who play at any World Series tournament.
Australia A beat the Czech Republic (40-7), South Africa’s Delta Drone Tuks (36-0), Japan Development (31-7), Kenya Lionesses (33-0) and Scion Rugby USA (35-7) before toppling South Africa’s national side 21-10 in the final.
Ball-player Faythe Manera, from Gold Coast's Bond University, scored an excellent long-range try down the blindside in the final when the Aussie A team had to come back from conceding the first try for the first time.
Being able to take away Manly 17-year-olds Milla Elaro and Piper Simons also opened the eyes of two youngsters to the opportunities of sevens rugby.
“Both Milla and Piper gained benefits from playing and now head to New Zealand next week as part of the Australian Youth team,” Tayler said.
“These are the opportunities available in a worldwide sport like rugby sevens that can keep girls in the game and fuel the hunger to push for World Series spots."
The next round of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series kicks off for men and women in Cape Town on Friday.
