World Rugby Sevens
Australia Names Squads for Hong Kong Sevens as Bienne Terita Returns
Australia has announced its squads for the upcoming HSBC SVNS World Championship Series opener at the Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens (April 17–19), with Paris Olympian Bienne Terita making her return to the women’s side.
Terita, who missed the last two tournaments in Vancouver and New York, is the only change to an otherwise settled squad boasting 296 tournament caps. Sariah Paki leads the group in experience with 40 events, while prolific try-scorer Maddison Levi, Teagan Levi, Madison Ashby, and Faith Nathan have each featured in more than 30 tournaments.
The squad also includes Amahli Hala, Kaitlan Shave, Tia Hinds, Heidi Dennis, Khali Henwood, Alysia Lefau-Fakosilea, and co-captain Isabella Nasser. Australia will compete in Pool B against Olympic silver medallists Canada, Great Britain, and SVNS 2 qualifiers South Africa.
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Head coach Tim Walsh said the team is focused on building confidence from the regular season, where they reached every Cup Final but secured only one title — the SVNS Cape Town victory over New Zealand.
On the men’s side, Australia faces a tough draw in Pool play against New Zealand, USA, and Kenya. Coach Liam Barry has named James McGregor in place of Ethan McFarland, while James Turner is set for his 25th tournament. Veteran Henry Hutchison (65 tournaments) anchors a squad that also features Maurice Longbottom, Dietrich Roache, Ben Dowling, Josh Turner, Ben Dalton, Jayden Blake, Aden Ekanyake, Harry Wilson, Archie Saunders, and Wallace Charlie.
Australia’s men finished the regular season third overall, behind South Africa and Fiji, and will look to make a strong start in Hong Kong.