Rugby Australia is pleased to announce the Australia A Sevens Women’s squad to compete at the International Invitational in Dubai from Saturday (November 29-30).
Australia A coach Shannon Parry has included Australian Sevens squad members Bridget Clark, Kiiahla Duff, Kahli Henwood, Piper Simons and Sidney Taylor for the tournament.
The quintet recently missed selection for the opening round of the HSBC SVNS world series and will spearhead the side across the two-day event.
Wallaroos pair Maya Stewart and Waiaria Ellis have also been named after both started training with Australia’s Sevens squad following the Women’s Rugby World Cup.
Ellis has showcased her skills in both Sevens and XVs previously for Australian sides while Stewart, the equal-leading Wallaroos try-scorer of all time, is in line to play her first Sevens tournament in gold.
Rhani Hagan, Zoe Waters and Emmisyn Wynyard stood out for Queensland during their Next Gen series victory in September while Anaia Cruickshank and Amelia Whitaker excelled for NSW.
Australia A coach Shannon Parry said: “The International Invitational in Dubai is an important pathway for players preparing to take the next step into the national squad.
“The amount of depth created in the Australian squad in recent years means we’ll have plenty of World Series experience for the tournament and those players will also get valuable game time.
“Most of the younger players have come through the Next Gen Sevens program this year and are stars of the future while Maya Stewart gets a chance in Sevens.
“It’s going to be a challenging tournament but we are looking forward to the opportunity to play in Dubai and against other international teams.”
Australia A have been drawn into Pool A with matches against Belgium, Kazakhstan, Brazil and China on Saturday with the finals to take place on Sunday.
All Australia A matches can be live streamed via the Dubai 7s Youtube channel.
- Bridget Clark - NSW
- Anaia Cruickshank - NSW
- Kiiahla Duff - NSW
- Waiaria Ellis - NSW
- Rhani Hagan - Queensland
- Kahli Henwood - Queensland
- Piper Simons - NSW
- Maya Stewart - NSW
- Sidney Taylor – Queensland
- Zoe Waters – Queensland
- Amelia Whitaker - NSW
- Emmisyn Wynyard – Queensland
- Saturday, November 29: Australia v Belgium (12:40am AEDT)
- Saturday, November 29: Australia v Kazakhstan (2:40am AEDT)
- Saturday, November 29: Australia v China (10:40pm AEDT)
- Sunday, November 30: Australia v Brazil (12:20am AEDT)
