Wallaroos captain reacts to 7s players’ bold bid for 15s World Cup spots

Australia captain Michaela Leonard has opened up about Thursday’s major announcement which is both exciting and scary for Wallaroos players going into a Rugby World Cup year. Before the showpiece event, a group of HSBC SVNS Series players will push their case for 15s selection.

Rugby Australia revealed that nine players from the world-renowned women’s sevens side had committed to Super Rugby Women’s teams. Demi Hayes, Tia Hinds, and Bienne Terita have all linked with the ACT Brumbies, while Sariah Paki is off to the NSW Waratahs.

Reigning World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year Maddison Levi headlines a five-woman strong group that’s heading to Brisbane’s Ballymore to join the Queensland Reds. Maddison joins younger sister Teagan, Charlotte Caslick, Isabella Nasser, and Khali Henwood at the club.

All nine players are still set to ply their trade on the international sevens circuit in 2025, but a four-week gap between stops in Vancouver and Hong Kong China should allow the cross-code converts to play about two matches for their respective Super Rugby Women’s sides.

As rugby fans have already seen with Ilona Maher signing with Bristol Bears in England’s Premiership Women’s Rugby, these big name additions can be significant for piquing interest in domestic competitions before the Women’s Rugby World Cup later in the year.

“I think it’s definitely huge in that list of names there’s Olympians, there’s incredible athletes, there’s a whole lot of rugby knowledge and experience,” Leonard told RugbyPass on Friday.

“It’s super huge for us as a Wallaroos group that one, players and athletes of that calibre are interested in challenging themselves to be part of the 15s game and putting their hand up to be part of what’s been a pretty special group this year and looking into a World Cup year next year is pretty special.

“It’s incredibly exciting for us too to be able to build the depth of our group, have a harder selection pool, a harder selection pool to select players from.

“That much opportunity to welcome some pretty phenomenal rugby athletes into our environment and take over the best team that we can into the World Cup next year.”

Thursday’s announcement was an exciting one, considering the world-class skillsets all of these nine players have shown in the world of rugby sevens. But rugby’s 15-a-side format is a very different game, which has prompted mixed results for those jumping between the codes.

New Zealand’s Stacey Waaka, Portia Woodman-Wickliffe, Sarah Hirini, and Theresa Setefano have all been highly successful in switching from sevens to 15s and back again. In the last World Cup Final in 2022, ‘smiling assassin’ Waaka was one of the standouts, as was Hirini.

But that doesn’t mean this is going to be an easy transition by any means. The Levi sisters, Caslick, Paki and some of the others have never played 15s rugby before, and they might only have two matches in SR Women’s to prove themselves worthy of a Wallaroos call-up.

Australia finished their first international season under coach Jo Yapp with three wins on the bounce, which saw captain Leonard lift the first major trophy in the team’s history at WXV 2 in Cape Town. They got the better of Wales, South Africa and a then-undefeated Scotland side.

Wingers Desiree Miller and Maya Stewart both proved themselves among the sport’s elite in terms of their try-scoring ability, and then there are the likes of Georgina Friedrichs and Cecilia Smith who are highly experienced in the team’s midfield.

It’s going to be an almighty challenge for these sevens stars to shine in 15s rugby, but it’s also a “scary” position for some Wallaroos to be in as they venture into the unknown next year – soon to be locked in a battle to retain their spots with some players who have never played the sport.

“I have no doubts at all with the people that we have and the culture that we have within our group that it’s going to be a welcoming environment for those girls to come into,” Leonard went on to explain.

“Looking at positions, and I guess that element of dread or unknown is probably a slightly easier one to talk to as a tight five forward, but I think being the pinnacle of our sport at a World Cup and wanting to do our nation proud, to represent our country… we all want to see the team succeed.

“Particularly looking to a World Cup year, you want to be able to select from the best athletes you can to put out there on the field. You want that selection process to be hard, you want there to be a really healthy competition in camps, in games, in that environment with everyone striving to earn that jersey and earn a place in that 23.

“There’s obviously that element of unknown and that can always be scary and you’re never sure how things are going to work out or what it’s going to end up like until it happens.

“I have no doubts at all that the people in our group and the culture we’ve created over the last few years within the Wallaroos will remain strong and I think that’ll be a big part of forming a team.

“You don’t always form selection based on just purely individual skill or talent, it’s how that collective works and with 15s you need 23, you need 30 people that work really well together. I’m sure that’ll come into play as well.

“In the end and when we get into it next year post-Super W, it’ll be really exciting and I think all of the girls will accept the challenge and take it head on to say, ‘Welcome for one, we’re excited to have you here, we’re really excited to see what you bring to this environment but… this is what Wallaroos is all about, this is what it takes to train to play in this environment’.”