New faces for Australia, NZ and USA women
World champions New Zealand will begin their quest for a third successive Women’s Sevens Series title in Dubai next week with two new faces in their squad in Charlotte Scanlan and school teacher Morgan Morrow.
While captain Huriana Manuel (leg) and Kayla McAlister (neck) will be among those missing, coach Sean Horan is able to welcome back experienced duo Ruby Tui and Portia Woodman from injuries for the first of six rounds on the 2014-15 Series.
“While we would rather not have injuries to some of our senior players, this has opened the door for new talent trying to push through,” explained Horan, whose side will face USA, Russia and new core team China in Pool A at 7he Sevens.
“The new Women’s Sevens Series held in Taupo was an excellent platform for players and I am really impressed that both Morgan Morrow and Charlotte Scanlan played out of their skins and forced us to take a look at them.
“Both players have blended well into this team environment, and the competition for places in the squad has really lifted everyone’s game, which we will need to keep doing if we want to realise our goals for gold in Rio.
“It’s great to have Portia and Ruby back in the mix – both are hungry and on edge to get back into playing a tournament. They are in fantastic condition as they’ve worked hard to maintain their fitness while rehabilitating from injuries.
“Portia is like the bionic woman – she’s come back bigger, faster, stronger, and Ruby just hasn’t missed a trick in terms of getting her body ready. They are both keen to shake off the cobwebs in Dubai.”
New Zealand squad: Ruby Tui, Carla Hohepa, Hazel Tubic, Jordon Webber, Sarah Goss, Gayle Broughton, Tyla Nathan-Wong, Kelly Brazier, Morgan Morrow, Charlotte Scanlan, Portia Woodman, Shiray Tane.
New Zealand reached the final in Dubai last year, but were undone by an incredible comeback from Australia in a match that was to set the tone for a season which saw the two rivals go head to head in a title battle that went right down to the wire.
Australia could also have two new faces for their title defence in Dubai with coach Tim Walsh having named Tanisha Stanton and Chloe Dalton in an extended 13-strong squad, the pair having switched from netball and basketball respectively.
They will be joined by the captain Sharni Williams, IRB Women’s Sevens Player of the Year 2014 Emilee Cherry, Shannon Parry, Charlotte Caslick and the exciting Ellia Green for the first step in the qualification process for Rio 2016.
One player who will hope to play a part in securing a top four place to qualify for Rugby Sevens’ debut in Rio is teenager Tiana Penitani, who co-captained Australia to Youth Olympic Games gold in China back in August and returns to the Series after more than a year’s absence due to injury.
“I have picked a hungry, exciting and young side that has just spent its first full pre-season together after the Sevens programme was centralised earlier this year,” said coach Tim Walsh.
“I have been delighted with the progress that Tanisha and Chloe have made since switching from netball and basketball respectively. They have added genuine depth to our playing group. Both are raw talents, but they are reaping the rewards of the hard work they have put in during training.
“With so many countries centralising their Women’s Sevens programme, this is undoubtedly going to be our toughest season to date. We did well to finish second last season, but of course our objective is to go one better this year.”
Australia squad: Charlotte Caslick, Emilee Cherry, Chloe Dalton, Gemma Etheridge, Ellia Green, Shannon Parry, Evania Pelite, Tiana Penitani, Alicia Quirk, Tanisha Stanton, Emma Tonegato, Amy Turner, Sharni Williams (captain) * One to be omitted
Australia’s first opponents will be South Africa, who will be captained in Dubai by Marithy Pienaar as regular skipper Zenay Jordaan continues her rehabilitation from a knee injury.
The Springbok Women’s Sevens are one of four new core teams on the 2014-15 Series and despite Jordaan’s absence coach Renfred Dazel has a number of experienced players to call on in Lorinda Brown, Veroeshka Grain and Phumeza Gadu.
There are also a couple of new faces in Sinazo Nobele and Shona-Leah Weston, the latter receiving the perfect 23rd birthday present today with her selection for the Series opener at 7he Sevens.
“We are in a fortunate situation to be able to name a squad that has been together for almost a year and we hope this will contribute to a competitive performance,” said Dazel. “The core of the team has been training together since last year when we were preparing for the Dubai International Invitational, and we drafted in a few new players from the Springbok Women’s 15-a-side set-up who have brought in additional skills, so we are pleased with the quality of the team.
“Ten of these players were also members of the squad that booked South Africa a place on the World Series circuit in Hong Kong in September, so we will enter the tournament with a squad that can handle pressure.
“Zenay is an experienced player and an inspirational leader, so it is a blow, but we have a strong and capable captain in Marithy and a team that boasts vast international experience, and I have full faith in them to do the job in Dubai.”
South Africa squad: Lorinda Brown, Phumeza Gadu, Rachelle Geldenhuys, Veroeshka Grain, Nosiphiwo Goda, Jacqueline Kriel, Sinazo Nobele, Marithy Pienaar (captain), Fundiswa Plaatjie, Mathrin Simmers, Ziyanda Tywaleni, Shona-Leah Weston
Joanne Faavesi and Melissa Fowler will make their debuts for the Women’s Sevens Eagles in Dubai, while Jessica Javelet returns having missed the final two rounds in 2013-14 due to her commitments in field hockey.
Faavesi spent time playing in Australia and it was there that she caught the eye of USA coaches and was invited to join the squad for a couple of training camps at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California.
Almost half of the Women’s Eagles squad will have only two tournaments or fewer under their belts, and while coach Ric Suggitt believes his squad have been making progress he is eager to see how they will perform when the pressure is on.
“We’ve seen a progression as far as their fitness and their functional strength,” Suggitt said of a pre-season which has seen them host Brazil at the OTC, go to Alaska for an intense week of training and have 10 of the Dubai-bound squad play at the Coral Coast Sevens in Fiji.
“What we still miss is that competitive environment. Until you actually live it, you don’t know it. We have good athletes that are pretty confident, but what we lack is that consistency in international competition.
“I don’t think they’re fully aware [of the pressure] yet. I think they’ll start to feel it once they start to play in international competitions. Once they start to play and get into Dubai and see where everyone’s at, they’ll really start to go, ‘Oh my gosh, this is happening. It’s happening right in front of my eyes. I better get going here.’”
USA squad: Kelly Griffin, Amelia Villines, Kathryn Johnson, Hannah Lopez, Jessica Javelet, Lauren Doyle, Victoria Folayan, Lorrie Clifford, Megan Bonny, Joanne Faavesi, Alev Kelter, Melissa Fowler.
Courtesy of World Rugby
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