Australia’s first women’s rugby sevens university series will get underway in August, following the announcement of the draw this Thursday morning.
The competition will begin on August 25 and will run for four rounds before finishing up on September 30.
The full Australian women’s squad, many of whom were involved in the gold medal success at the 2016 Rio Olympics will be involved in the tournament, being split evenly across the eight university teams.
Every team in the tournament will be allocated at least two members of the Australian squad, while the line-ups will comprise a split of students and non-students. It has also been announced that at least 50 per cent of the squads need to be made up of students, although there is no requirement for how many must be on the field at the same time.
Every match for each round will be played at the same venue, with four different universities playing host over the course of the season.
The series will kick-off in Tasmania, before Macquarie University in north-west Sydney hosts the second event, which will coincide with a National Rugby Championship derby between the Macquarie University Sydney Rays and the Western Sydney Rams.
The final two events of the series will be held in Queensland, the first at the University of Queensland and the final at Bond University on the Gold Coast during the back end of September.
Australian women’s sevens head coach Tim Walsh will be watching the tournament as he ramps up his search to find the next generation of Olympians. With five states and territories represented in the competition, he says the national scope of the series should prompt female athletes from a range of sports to consider whether they could be Australia’s next rugby sevens star.
“Our Rio team was made up of plenty of amazing women who used to play other sports,” Walsh said.
“If you can run fast, catch and have plenty of determination, you have the foundation to be a rugby sevens champion. We hope to discover plenty of new talent this year, whether they come from a rugby background or not.
“Flying around the country to compete with and against gold medallists is an opportunity that not many athletes ever get, so I’m looking forward to see which teams and which players step up to challenge and make the most of their chance on the national stage.”
| Round | Date | Venue |
| 1 | 25-26 August | University of Tasmania Stadium, Launceston |
| 2 | 9-10 September | Macquarie University fields, Sydney |
| 3 | 16-17 September | University of Queensland fields, Brisbane |
| 4 | 29-30 September | Bond University fields, Gold Coast |
Casual fan
Guest
Great news. As said earlier hard to believe its come from the ARU.
mad mick
Guest
Could not have put it better. In addition the ARU should not be allowed to pat themselves on the back and hide behind any success that comes from the 7s game whilst neglecting their main responsibility which is to get the 15 aside game introduced to more players and spectators. Success at 7s will be an easy get out of jail for the ARU because they can demonstrate an increase in numbers both men and women but it masks the truth of the demise of the 15 a side game.
Adam
Roar Guru
There is definitely some interest in all sports down there, just don't tell the local media. There has been a few NRL trial matches and the Warratahs took a pre-season game down there too. There always seems to be a decent crowd - somewhere in the vicinity of 15k. With all lots of people moving down for work etc there is definitely some new potential for the state to grow it's rugby pedigree. Luke Burgessis the development officer in the state. As well as Adam Coleman being a bona-fide Wallaby now and he played rugby all through his junior years in the local competition. Rugby in Tasmania has a pretty long history with teams dating from the 1930's. So fingers crossed the game can see a bit of growth in the next 5 or so years.
eeds
Roar Rookie
I was in tassie around Christmas and had a chat with a bloke who had just come back from taking his wife and young daughter to the big bash. He spent a good 20 minutes explaining how crap it was that tassie only really gets big bash as a major sporting event. It got me thinking how epic it would be if rugby got a foothold in tassie. Seems like some good planning from the aru to include a utas team if you ask me.
Boris
Guest
I think there's a mens comp being added next year which would run side by side with the womens comp.
Mac
Guest
About time this happened. There should be a Seven Comp and it should have started a few years back. However better late than never. I would like to see a longer comp but it is a hard game for non pros with the conditioning and fitness to stay in the game and comp. There should be a men's Sevens comp to in my view, however every Union should run a Men's and Ladies Sevens comp as part of their season. A point I have made for some 6 years now. And I do agree that Sevens needs to have its own management under the Rugby Banner as it is a big thing to manage a comp that is in essence a carnival over a couple of day not an 80 Minute flash. More Refs are needed, more Linespeople and more facilities. So it is a special events job and needs that vision and management to make it work. And to run Men's and Women's comps is a challenge and I would not run them together at the same venues. I would run a play off carnival of the Top 4 though for rugby unity and a season ending trophy day.
Adam
Roar Guru
I think that the 15 man game is a poisoned chalice at the moment in Australia. I think that the 7's is a fresh concept that could be better managed by people whose main interest is growing the game of 7's. I also think that 7's is a more likely concept for growth with women's rugby and a focus away from the traditional will also allow for continued growth. Maybe not a completely new structure but a greater sense of autonomy is likely needed.
ClarkeG
Guest
Same question to you as I put to Mick.
ClarkeG
Guest
Why would that need to be the case.
Adam
Roar Guru
I went to UTAS and I must admit I'm a little worried about how the girls will go against the much bigger universities. That said it is a pretty big win to get their leg of the tournament at University of Tasmania stadium/Aurora stadium/York Park. Must agree with Mick in that 7's needs to administer themselves as they have a huge potential for growth and shouldn't necessarily be constrained by the ARU. However, I'm sure the ARU is doing plenty of the funding for the players.
mad mick
Guest
It is imperative for the future proofing of rugby and of 7s that the two games of rugby union and 7s are separated and have separate administration.
Machooka
Roar Guru
Now, now Shop... credit where credit is due :)
Shop
Roar Guru
Wow, has this been organized by the ARU? It would have to be the first positive step from them in a very long time.