Hutchinson named captain as three debutants confirmed for Malaga

Thu, Jan 20, 2022, 9:49 PM
Nathan Williamson
by Nathan Williamson
Australia faced off against New Zealand at day three of the Oceania Sevens at Queensland Country Bank Stadium.

The Australian Men's Sevens side have confirmed a trio of debutants for the third leg of the World Sevens Series in Malaga, with Henry Hutchinson set to captain the side.

Former Queensland Reds winger Chris Kuridrani headlines the changes as John Manenti looks to go one further than their Dubai efforts in his first event as men's coach.

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Along with Kuridrani, full-time member and newly signed Waratah Darcy Lancaster and Olympian Nathan Lawson have been included in the 13-man squad.

Sevens stalwart Hutchison will lead the side, temporarily replacing Nick Malouf as captain who remained in Australia.

Maurice Longbottom also makes his return to the squad after missing the second leg, joined by the Dubai stars Solomone Vosaicake, Corey Toole, Dietrich Roache, Yool Yool, Ben Dowling and Jed Stuart

"It's going to be an exciting weekend for our team as we look to build on the work we've been doing," Manenti said in a statement.

"Like all teams, we've faced numerous challenges around player availability in our preparation for Malaga; it will be a great test of character when we turn up and play.

"We welcome three new players to the World Series, Nathan Lawson, who featured at the Tokyo Olympics, Chris Kuridrani returning to Australia after a stint in Japan and Former Schoolboy sensation Darby Lancaster."

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The Australians will kick off the tournament against Germany on Friday 21st January (10:28 pm AEDT), who were a late entry into the tournament after the withdrawal of New Zealand

This will be followed by games against Japan (Saturday 3:12 am) and Ireland (Saturday 10:33 pm).

All the games are available live and free in Australia via world.rugby and World Rugby's YouTube Channel.

Australian Men’s Sevens Team for Malaga, 21-22 January
  1. Henry Hutchison (c), 34 caps
  2. Solomone Vosaicake, 2 caps
  3. Corey Toole, 2 caps
  4. Dietrich Roache, 2 caps
  5. Yool Yool, 2 caps
  6. Darby Lancaster, *
  7. Josh Turner, 8 caps
  8. Ben Dowling, 2 caps
  9. Stu Dunbar, 3 caps
  10. Chris Kuridrani, *
  11. Maurice Longbottom, 21 caps
  12. Nathan Lawson, *
  13. Jed Stuart, 2 caps

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