Aon Uni 7s ready for kick off tomorrow

The inaugural Aon Uni 7s Series is ready to get underway with all eight Universities in Launceston, Tasmania for round one of the five-week competition kicking off at University of Tasmania Stadium tomorrow.

The teams have descended on the northern Tasmanian city for two days of action packed Women’s Rugby Sevens as the sides begin their campaign to be crowned the inaugural Aon Uni 7s Champions.

Kicking off this Friday 25 August at 2pm AEST, teams have been putting their finishing touches on their preparation as they prepare for their first clash.

ARU General Manager, High Performance, Ben Whitaker said: “The Aon Uni 7s Series is going to be an exciting and edgy competition as we see the eight University sides compete over the next five weeks.

“Since the Gold Medal success of our Aussie 7s Women’s team we have seen an explosion in participation of Women’s Sevens in this country.

“The Aon Uni 7s Series, not only provides a clear pathway for athletes to make it into the Aussie 7s squad, but also provides opportunities for young fans to engage with the game and see their Olympic heroes on Australian soil.

“The competition will also provide a great development pathway for coaches, management and match officials as we look to expand the depth of Rugby Sevens talent across the board in Australia.”

Qantas Australian Women’s Sevens Head Coach, Tim Walsh said: “I am excited that this competition is about to get underway and it represents the next opportunity for Women’s Rugby in this country.   

“To have this competition provide more High-Performance opportunities to players, hopefully we will see more young female athletes wanting to make the switch to Rugby in the coming years.

“I know the Universities have been preparing really well and I can’t wait to see how the competition plays out over the coming weeks.” 

Australian University Sport CEO Don Knapp said: "This collaborative initiative between Australian University Sport, competing universities and the Australian Rugby Union provides elite student-athletes with a groundbreaking pathway to the Olympic and Commonwealth Games podia, while at the same time preparing them for a career beyond sport through dual career education while at university. 

"This program is a great example of multiple partners working together to achieve shared, organisational aims; the pathway this program creates for elite female athletes in rugby 7s is indeed exciting.”

The Aussie 7s squad members have been distributed amongst the eight sides including Macquarie University, University of Queensland, Bond University, University of Canberra, University of New England, Griffith University, University of Tasmania, and the University of Adelaide. 

Fans will also be able to watch all the Rugby Sevens action LIVE on rugby.com.au with every match to be streamed through rugby.com.au’s platforms, to see who is crowned the inaugural Aon Uni 7s Champion.

For the round one draw please click here.

2017 Aon Women’s University Sevens Series Draw:

Round 1, Friday 25 August-Saturday 26 August, University of Tasmania Stadium, Launceston 
Round 2, Saturday 9 September-Sunday 10 September, Macquarie University Sporting Fields, Sydney
Round 3, Saturday 16 September-Sunday 17 September, University of Queensland Fields, Brisbane
Round 4, Friday 29 September-Saturday 30 September, Bond University Rugby Field, Gold Coast

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