Aden Ekanayake will join Australian Sevens teammate Wallace Charlie at Western Force in 2027 while a number of other Sevens players will take up rugby opportunities overseas in the off-season.
Ekanayake will depart the Men’s Sevens program after agreeing to a three-year contract with the Force while Charlie was already locked in to joining Simon Cron’s squad next year prior to the HSBC SVNS series.
The 21-year-old has been a standout in the Men’s program since debuting in 2024, earning Junior Player of the Year honours in his first season and starring for Australia in the World Rugby Under 20s Championship in Italy.
Meanwhile, several Sevens stars have committed to international teams in the off-season.
Maddison Levi, Henry Hutchison and Maurice Longbottom will take part in the inaugural Ultimate Sevens competition running in Europe from August.
Levi is among up to seven players from the Australian Women’s program that could be part of the tournament with captain Isabella Nasser, Faith Nathan, Kahli Henwood, Kaitlin Shave, Heidi Dennis and Bienne Terita all available in the draft.
Henwood, Dennis, Amahli Hala and Mackenzie Davis are all currently in Japan, playing in the Taiyo Seimei Women's Sevens Series.
Director of High Performance Peter Horne said: “It’s a terrific opportunity for Aden at the Western Force and similar to Sid Harvey this season we have seen players from the Australia Sevens program transition well in Super Rugby Pacific.
“Our Australia Sevens sides had fantastic seasons and it is pleasing to see many taking up opportunities overseas and gaining vital experience before returning for an Olympic-qualifying campaign in 2026-2027.
“We also thank those who are departing our program and wish them well in the future.”
Hutchison and Longbottom could be joined by Ben Dowling, James Turner, Jayden Blake and Harry Wilson with the quartet among the players available in the Ultimate Sevens draft.
Hutchison, Longbottom and Michael Icely are among the Australian Men to have also signed contracts with Indian franchises in the Rugby Premier League.
Icely will join Charlie and Ekanayake in farewelling the Australia Men’s program with Gage Phillips and Oliver Harvey also released following the completion of the 2025-2026 season.
Charlie and Cooper Watters will be part of Australia's campaign for the Junior World Championship kicking off on June 27 in Georgia.
On the Super Rugby Women’s front, Tia Hinds and Piper Simons are among the Sevens-contract players transitioning to XVs rugby this year.
Hinds is currently nursing a calf injury suffered during the Bordeaux Sevens but is expected to return for the Waratahs’ campaign.
Simons made her Wallaroos debut in March after switching to XVs and is learning her craft at halfback for the Waratahs.
