Australia’s next generation of sevens stars will descend on Sunshine Coast Stadium later this month as teams vie for National Youth Sevens Cup honours.
The Sunshine Coast will be transformed into a development precinct with 280 potential future Olympians to take to the field on the final weekend of the month.
Both the boys' and girls' championships act as an opportunity for the country's best young talent to be identified for the Australian Youth Sevens sides which will compete at the World Schools 7s, kicking off on December 13 in Auckland.
The Youth Girls Championship has seen the likes of Madison Ashby, Faith Nathan, Tatum Bird, Hagiga Mosby and Jakiya Whitfeld progress through into the Aon University Sevens Series, while Ashby recently debut on the Sevens World Series circuit in Colorado.
The highly successful Australian Schools and U18s team has also reaped the rewards of the Youth Boys Championship, with both Tolu Koula and Joseph Suaalii featuring in the 2018 competition.
They went onto play crucial roles in the Australian team’s undefeated tour of New Zealand, while Tane Edmed earnt a development contract with the national men’s program following standout performances in 2018.
Rugby Australia’s Performance Manager 7s Rugby, Scott Bowen, said the level of talent discovered at these tournaments was always outstanding.
“These youth tournaments give players an opportunity to put their hands up for higher honours and some of the players we have unearthed here have gone onto become some of our most consistent performers on the World Series," Bowen said.
“The championships also provide emerging coaches and match officials with high level exposure and learning supported by national program coaching and high performance staff.
“With less than a year to go with the Olympic Games, our selectors and coaching staff will be out in full force as well look to continue to build our national programs for both the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo and beyond.”
National Youth Boys Sevens Championship
Pool A – Queensland I, Western Australia, Northern Territory
Pool B – New South Wales I, Australian Capital Territory, Victoria, Tasmania
Pool C – New South Wales II, Queensland II, South Australia, National Indigenous
National Youth Girls Sevens Championship
Pool A – New South Wales I, Australian Capital Territory, Victoria
Pool B – New South Wales II, Queensland II, National Indigenous, Tasmania
Pool C – Queensland I, Western Australia, Northern Territory, South Australia
