This article was first written for and published by the Roar.
On Saturday, the Australian Wallaroos will finally commence their 2021 Women’s World Cup journey, after the postponement of the Cup last year due to COVID-19.
The Wallaroos will open the Tournament featuring in a triple header which will see England take on Fiji, France to play South Africa and then Australia play hosts New Zealand.
This article was first written for and published by the Roar.
Last week when the Melbourne Rebels announced that their players would receive payment for the upcoming 2022 season, it was a first for Australia’s Super W competition.
To date, women across the country that have been competing in the Super W have been unpaid, juggling elite sporting commitments with familial responsibilities, university and work.
This article was first written for and published by the Roar.
Earlier this week, the Australian Wallaroos announced their new head coach Jay Tregonning.
Tregonning will officially begin on October 1 and will oversee the Wallaroos’ program through to the Women’s Rugby World Cup at the end of 2022.
For Tregonning, this role is one he has aspired to for quite some time.
This article was first written for and published by the Roar.
Last week World Rugby formally ratified a recommendation to postpone the Women’s Rugby World Cup, which was scheduled to take place in Auckland from 18 September until 16 October 2021. The tournament will now be held in 2022.
Your expectation may be that this postponement would result in disappointment for the players involved, but for Australian Wallaroos squad member Arabella McKenzie the postponement presents an opportunity.
This article was first written for and published by the Roar.
Australia’s hopes for back-to-back Olympic gold medals in rugby sevens received a boost last month, when it was announced that Australian women’s sevens superstar Emilee Cherry had made the decision to extend her deal with Rugby Australia.
While plenty has changed in the sevens space since Rio, Cherry will join a core group of women who competed in Rio and have committed to defending their gold medals in Tokyo including Evania Pelite, Ellia Green, Chloe Dalton, Shannon Parry and Sharni Williams.
This post was first written for and published by the Roar.
At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Chloe Dalton made the decision to return to Sydney and move back in with her parents.
We’ve all faced challenges during the pandemic, but for Dalton, who first moved out aged 18 years old when she was playing in the WNBL with the Sydney University Flames, it was a bit of a shock.
“The hardest part of moving back home was letting them know whether I would be home for dinner or not,” said Dalton.
This article was first written for and published by the Roar.
In a significant boost to the Australian women’s rugby sevens program, last week veterans Sharni Williams and Shannon Parry recommitted for an additional year.
This means the pair will be available to compete at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, where the Aussies are hoping to win back-to-back gold medals, following their historic victory at the 2016 Rio Games.
For Williams, who is captain of the team, the decision has given her the chance to refocus.
This article was first written for and published by the Roar.
Claudia Bell was recently recognised for her outstanding achievements in advancing the opportunities for women and girls to play rugby at the Her Sport Her Way Awards.
Bell was named Young Achiever of the Year.
I was fortunate enough to be at the awards ceremony and recognised Bell’s name, as I had interviewed her three years ago, when she was playing sevens for Macquarie University and looking forward to competing in the finals that weekend.
