Gold Coast tyro TJ Murray was worried no one would recognise her on the rugby field without her trademark bright pink headgear.
Forget it. She is a standout regardless as your new age teen in rugby with an ambitious eye for everything that women's sevens and the 15-a-side game can offer.
She is off to a flyer at just 17 with schoolgirl, club and Queensland honours in her kitbag plus national selection in sevens for the upcoming Youth Olympics in Senegal.
She showed exactly why she is one of Queensland's brightest young prospects at the Santos Festival of Rugby in Roma this weekend.
Murray (three) and Maddy Pomerenke (four) were the leading tryscorers for the Queensland Reds sevens team which defeated the NSW Waratahs 4-1 in their five-match series.
After being outplayed 31-17 in the opener, the Reds swept the final four games 26-19, 25-19, 19-17 and 26-10.
In the final game, Murray took an inside ball for her first try and neatly stepped through the defence for her second. What is most obvious is the rugby smarts she plays with.
She commits defenders when she attacks the line, throws a natural pass, has excellent hands, knows a good support line and can tackle.
She was just 15 and in Year Nine at King's Christian College when she shared in Bond University's Founders Cup grand final success last year when playing against some players 10 years her senior.
The pink headgear made her easy to spot. "TJ" stands for Te Rina-Jade by the way.
"Dad said I had to wear the headgear until I learnt how to tackle properly. I'm free," Murray said with a laugh in Roma.
"I didn't know anyone would recognise me without it."
She has transferred her skills from a touch background into rugby.
"I love both forms of rugby but my ideal life goal is making Aussie sevens. Having Amahli Hala (Australian sevens) and Ava Wereta (Wallaroos) make Australian teams from my school is really inspiring. It was great having them to look up to when I started in rugby," Murray said.
She is delighted that Ballymore is to become the full-time base for the Australian sevens squad with the State Government's landmark backing to build a new Teams in Gold high-performance centre.
"It's cool to see the greater acknowledgement for women's sport and exciting that those facilities will be in Brisbane," she said.
While all other teams at the annual festival were kicking back after Saturday's bumper 10-hour feast of rugby at the home of the Roma Echidnas, the sevens girls were still in competition mode.
After three games on Saturday, they were back for two more on Sunday morning to simulate a sevens tournament weekend of performing and backing up.
"There's so much energy around the Festival of Rugby. I've played in Narrabri and Roma now and it's so much fun," Murray said.
Reds sevens coach Shannon Parry was delighted with the Roma series, the game time for newer members of the squad and a debut for Sunshine Coast's Meg Fortune.
"TJ is a genuine hybrid athlete. It's not sevens or XVs for her, she's just a good rugby player, who can perform in both," Parry said.
"It was a really pleasing weekend in Roma. It's good to see a young group being able to bounce back after a loss first-up and plenty of minutes shared."
