NSW Rugby Union (NSWRU) has nominated their squads for the upcoming National Youth 7s on the Sunshine Coast.
The three-day tournament – featuring Australia’s best up-and-coming 7s players – will run on Saturday 30 November and Sunday 1 December.
NSWRU will enter two teams across the Youth Boys and Youth Girls divisions, as well as naming an U15 girls squad.
Traditionally, NSW have been strong performers in this competition and Pathways Coordinator, Matt Evrard said that the sides had been well prepared in recent weeks at NSWRU headquarters.
“They’ve had really good preparation, we’ve held weekend camps over the last five weeks which is on par with how we’ve done things in previous years,” Evrard said.
The Youth Girls squad will be looking to repeat their efforts in 2018, with both NSW sides reaching the Final.
“We’ve got the same coaching staff [as 2018], we had a young group last year so we’ve got a lot of players returning plus some new girls in the mix as well.”
The Youth Boys will be looking to continue an unprecedented run, being the competitions only winners since its inception.
Whilst confident in their preparation and the quality of the squad, Evrard expects the Youth Boys not to have it all their own way across the weekend.
“This year they’ll face a few more challenges with some players unavailable for selection for a variety of reasons, but that being said we’ve pulled a number of new exciting players from within our pathway into this sevens group,” Evrard added.
Evrard has recruited a large portion of his Youth Boys squad through NSW Rugby’s Gen Blue program, while the Youth Girls have been recruited from various school 7s tournaments and the AON 7s.
While chasing a positive result for NSW, this talented group of athletes will also have the opportunity to earn national selection.
“If you get picked up in an Australian Youth squad that sets you up for the next 12 months basically,” Evrard said.
“There’s a lot of great opportunities that will flow on from that with Youth Olympics, Youth Commonwealth Games all on the horizon.”
Ultimately, Evrard said that the experience as a whole would prove a great developer for a talented collective of players.
“The quality thing about sevens is that it’s the ultimate test of your individual skill, whether you’re pursuing 7s or 15s it doesn’t matter,” Evrard said.
“For those outside backs that think they’ve got a lot of speed, it’s their ultimate test, and same goes for forwards at the breakdown who don’t have two or three players in support [like 15s].
“It’s such a great skill development game.”
Youth Boys
Dally Bird, Jayden Blake, Kyle Bowen, Jasper Cobcroft, Ben Dalton, Bill Delany, Ben Dowling, Oskar Enasio, Dylan Hema, Alan Holten, Emery Jolliffe, Livai Kaloutolu, Connor McMullen, Tom Morrison, Mac Puafisi, Nicholas Russell, Tom Douglas, Edward Slack-Smith, Harry Snook, Daniel Stovold, Joshua Taliai, Mitchell Wheals, Jerome Williams, Charles Worthington
Head Coach 1: Chris Delooze
Head Coach 2: David Gee
Manager: Dale Winslow
S&C: Miguel Duldulao
Physio: Andrew Farley
Physio: Narelle Veverka
Youth Girls
Adi Melaia Grace Tokabobo, Andie Robinson, Anneka Wilson, Aroha Spillane, Bienne Terita, Bronti Westaway, Cassey Tohi-Hiku, Gardinia Faalogo, Imogen Breen, Jessika Lealaiauloto, Kiiahla Duff, Leilani Wilson, Lily Murdoch, Lily Marsters, Maddison Binding, Paris Ingegneri, Rayven-Jodeci Boyce, Rosemarie Beckett Rysh'e Fa'amausili, Sophie Clancy, Tegan Dymock, Tia Hinds, Tyla Amiatu, Zali Hopkins
Head Coach 1: Kieran Smith
Head Coach 2: Fidel Tukel
Assistant: Daniel England
Manager: Alice Barber
S&C: Jaiden Balaso
Physio: Juliette Harrisson
Physio: Peri Huru Maika
U15 Girls
Ally Bullman, Ava Osland, Brooke Talataina, Edie Burke, Jesse Southwell, Joiful Fotu-Moala, Kalosipani Hopoate, Kate Fallon, Lialani Montgomery, Madison McArther, Ruby Nicholas, Sophia Addington
Head Coach: Christopher Cooper
S&C: Joshua Mitchell
Manager: Michael Jenkins
