Aussie Pearls want Sydney sevens crown

Australia’s sevens superstar Charlotte Caslick says she smiled when she saw the promotional material for next month’s Sydney rugby 7s tournament.

As the world’s best best female player and part of the Olympic gold medal-winning team, she’s rightfully front and centre.

And her boyfriend, Lewis Holland, who plays for the Australian men’s team, is off to the side.

It’s a position he may have to get used to, given Caslick and her team’s standing in the sport.

“It was really cool that they were promoting so much of the Sydney 7s stuff around the girls,” Caslick said.

“I thought it was pretty cool that I was at the front and he was on the side.

“He didn’t mind though, as he’s so supportive of us.”

The Sydney tournament, to be held on February 3 and 4 at Allianz Stadium, is the first time the women have played in a world series event in Australia.

A report recently commissioned by HSBC showed that by 2026 it’s expected around 40 per cent of all sevens players will be female.

After winning gold in Rio, beating arch-rivals New Zealand in the final, Caslick says it’s a homecoming for the Pearls.

“We’re so excited to play as we owe it to the Australian public to show them why they supported us so much over in Rio.

“We really want to put on a showcase for them during the tournament.”

After being crowned Olympic champions the 21-year-old said anything less than winning in Sydney would be a disappointment.

They suffered their first loss in 18 months, going down to the Kiwis in the first tournament final of the 2016-17 World Series tournament in Dubai last month.

“We’re trying to continue to break new ground and continue to lead the trends in the game and we’ve been working really hard to take out the title,” she said.

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