The Australia Women's Sevens team will have plenty of motivation heading into Singapore, with a pair of inspiring stories providing energy for the first event of the year.
Coach Tim Walsh has made five changes from the team that took out the Cape Town crown, headlined by the inclusions of Maya Stewart and Sidney Taylor.
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Stewart becomes one of the first in the revamped SVNS era to make the switch from 15s to Sevens after joining the wider squad during pre-season.
An impressive performance in Dubai with Australia A had the Wallaroos all-time try-scorer firmly on the radar, rewarded with a debut for the third event of the Series.
Her transition and application has impressed her Sevens record-holder counterpart Maddison Levi, who re-committed to Australian Rugby until 2028 earlier in the week.
“It's exciting to see Maya come in and be set for a debut in Singapore," she told the media.
"I was super excited personally as well, because my position, I can learn so much, and I'm so eager to learn, and Maya just came over with that same enthusiastic eagerness to learn.
“She's really made a mark on our team, and just her dynamic amongst all the girls, it's super exciting to have her, and she's been training a lot, and I can't wait to see her showcase that in Singapore.”
For Taylor, it marks her first appearance in gold in over 636 days after a long battle with injuries.
The Queenslander last played in the corresponding event in 2024, suffering an ACL injury that kept her out for the 2025 series.
“She's worked really hard, been very resilient and training the house out, and she's really exciting to play next to," Teagan Levi said.
“You can see the gaps that she runs, and the line breaks she does, so she's one to watch this weekend in Singapore."
Captain Bella Nasser was relishing the return of the SVNS World Series, set to head to Perth next weekend.
“We’ve prepared really well,” she said (via World Rugby). “Off the back of Cape Town when we got the win, we had a really good Christmas preparation and then into a couple of weeks post-Christmas. And we’re really excited to kick off in Singapore – we love Singapore, it’s one of our favourite tournaments, so we’re really pumped. We’re getting used to the heat and the humidity!”
