The Sevens sides have been confirmed for the final event of the SVNS regular season in Singapore, with both coaches making significant changes.
2023 Junior Wallabies captain Teddy Wilson will make his SVNS debut, coming in for the injured Matt Gonzalez.
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Gonzalez picked up the injury during the Hong Kong event, with Men’s coach John Manenti taking the precautionary route ahead of June’s SVNS Final in Madrid.
Vice-captain Maurice Longbottom has also been ruled out, picking up a hamstring injury days before the team was set to depart Australia.
He will be replaced by James McGregor, who debuted for the side in Cape Town.
“As the tournaments roll around, they all become more significant in one way or another,” Manenti said.
“For us, the chance to play consistently remains a key focus. There were heaps of positives to take from Hong Kong and on a short turnaround we’ve worked on a few areas to improve on for Singapore.
“On the back of a few injury niggles, we get to welcome Teddy Wilson from the Waratahs into the squad for his debut. “We are grateful to the Waratahs to give us the opportunity to play Teddy and know that he will fit right in with the team. We also welcome back for his second cap, Jimmy McGregor. He was the standout player in the recent Hong Kong 10s tournament and has been training fulltime with us for the past six months. “The rest of the squad remain the same, with ‘Hoops’ getting further exposure after handling Hong Kong well.”
As for the Women, Tim Walsh has taken a conservative route, with a top-two spot on the table locked up.
It will see gold medalists Charlotte Caslick and Sharni Smale miss the trip to Singapore as they deal with niggling injuries with the Madrid Final and Olympics in sight.
In their absence, Madison Ashby will skipper a relatively inexperienced side for the first time in her career.
They are joined on the sidelines by Bienne Terita, who will likely be fit for June's Final whilst Alysia Lefau-Fakaosilea will not return until pre-Olympics due to a shoulder subluxation
Offsetting this is returning Sevens star Dom du Toit, who has recovered from an ankle injury, along with stars Lily Dick and Sidney Taylor.
"We are after a performance in Singapore as we prepare for the final event in Madrid and the Olympics in July,” Walsh said.
“We are equal top on competition points with New Zealand, which makes for a Singapore showdown, and watching France beat them in Hong Kong at their peak makes for a very competitive last couple of tournaments.
“Madison Ashby will captain the team in Charlotte Caslick’s absence and both Bridget Clark and Ruby Nicholas will play in their second cap in Singapore.”
1. Lily Dick
3. Faith Nathan
4. Dominique Du Toit
5. Teagan Levi
6. Madison Ashby (c)
8. Kaitlin Shave
9. Tia Hinds
10. Bella Nasser
12. Maddison Levi
14. Bridget Clark
23. Ruby Nicholas
65. Sariah Paki
98. Sidney Taylor
1. Henry Hutchison
2. Ben Dowling
3. Henry Palmer
4. Dietrich Roache
6. Henry Paterson
10. Nick Malouf (c)
12. Nathan Lawson
14. James Turner
18. James McGregor
25. Hayden Sargeant
30. Teddy Wilson
77. Michael Hooper
87. Michael Icely
Pool C
Friday, May 3
Australia v Brazil - 2:30pm (AEST)
Australia v Great Britain - 8:05pm (AEST)
Saturday, May 4
Australia v Fiji - 2:50pm (AEST)
Pool A
Friday, May 3
Australia v Argentina - 4:42pm (AEST)
Australia v Canada - 10:14pm (AEST)
Saturday, May 4
Australia v New Zealand - 5:12pm (AEST)
