Sevens debutant Ruby Nicholas dreamed of being Charlotte Caslick when she grew up.
Now, the 19-year-old will share the field with her hero on the biggest Sevens stage in Hong Kong.
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Nicholas was a late inclusion in the Australian squad after an ankle injury to fellow young gun Heidi Dennis, called up by coach Tim Walsh.
“I was originally going (to Hong Kong) with the Shogun 10s team with a few of Australia A girls and then Tim (Walsh) called me to ask how I was and I said ‘oh yeah, good’ and then got nervous because like why else would Tim Walsh be calling and then he asked when I was getting in because you’re going to have to make your way to our hotel because you’re making your debut. Immediately I was in tears," she told Rugby.com.au
“I called my mom straight away and she was just at the shops and she came home running crying.
“Walking around the hotel and just seeing all the biggest Sevens stars in the world just hasn’t sunk in yet. The whole experience is very surreal.”
Nicholas and fellow debutant Bridget Clark are the latest fresh faces in the squad as the Australians deal with injury and suspension.
They have already used more players in 2024 than they did in the entirety of the Triple Crown campaign in 2021-22.
These players were inspired by the Rio 2016 success, with captain Caslick at the forefront of their gold medal success.
Both NSW stars got to recreate photos from when they were kids with the superstar when Caslick presented their jerseys last night.
“It’s so special, Charlotte Caslick was like my Michael Jordan, she’s the best in the world," Nicholas gushed.
“I think the first time I met her I was 13 in 2017 and a lot of the girls came to my school to train and that was a really big moment because I was starstruck. She was my idol growing up, especially at the time after Rio when they really became big.
“She was such a good person to look up to come through the ranks…I’m still in awe of her at every training session.
“I just sent her the photo of us from when it happened a few hours ago and we laughed about it because it’s this full circle moment. She thought it was funny because all the girls coming in now, it’s just her and all the girls that idolised her.”
Given the comparison, it's fitting Nicholas takes the 23 jersey as she looks to be an inspiration for the next generation of talent.
Nicholas has done her 'apprenticeship' in the Australia A program and has the confidence to step out onto the home of the Sevens circuit and express herself.
“Going to Fiji was the biggest one because we were playing as Australia A with only two fully contracted girls and I got to play against the top France, NZ and Fiji sides and we did really well against those teams," she expalained
“I think just knowing I can do it and can tackle those girls completely helps because it’s not a total unknown playing against girls at that level.”
