The Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Corporation (GOLDOC) and Australian Rugby Union have confirmed the inclusion of women’s Rugby Sevens in the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Australian Rugby Union CEO Bill Pulver has praised the decision.
“Since the last Commonwealth Games program in Glasgow was announced, women’s Rugby Sevens has gone from strength-to-strength, with the IRB introducing the IRB Women’s Sevens World Series for the 2012/13 season,” he said.
“Our men’s team have been wonderful ambassadors for Rugby Sevens since the sport’s introduction to the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur in 1998.”
The inclusion into the Commonwealth Games schedule will undoubtedly raise the profile of the sport internationally, as well as the profile of the larger scale 15-a-side women’s sport. The Australian Women’s Sevens team will be hoping to improve on the performance of their full-scale Rugby World Cup counterpart’s seventh-place finish at the Women’s RWC in August this year.
The Australian team will boast current IRB Women’s Sevens player of the year Emilee Cherry, as well as fellow Queenslanders Shannon Parry, Charlotte Caslick and Rachel Crothers, providing national women’s head coach Tim Walsh with crucial on-field preparation before kicking off their own IRB World Series campaign in Dubai in December.
Caslick is delighted that the women’s game has been included in the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
“I must admit I was a bit jealous seeing our men’s team going over to take part at the Games in Glasgow earlier this year,” she said.
“The fact the Games are being held in my home state is a wonderful bonus.”
For the duration of the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, men’s and women’s Rugby Sevens will be played at Robina Stadium. As no IRB Women’s Sevens World Series event is currently staged in the Oceania region, it will be a unique opportunity to see the fast-paced sport on Australian soil.
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