Inaugural Aon Uni 7s kicks off

Eight universities will face off as the inaugural Aon Uni 7s Series kicks off today in Launceston, Tasmania.
 

The campaign to become the inaugural Aon Uni 7s Champions commences with round one of the five-week competition at the University of Tasmania Stadium Aug. 25 and 26.
 

“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,” said Ben Whitaker, Australian Rugby Union (ARU) GM, High Performance. “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.”
 

The Aussie 7s squad members have been distributed to the seven competing universities – Macquarie University, University of Queensland, Bond University, University of Canberra, University of New England, Griffith University, University of Tasmania, and the University of Adelaide.
 

Tim Walsh, Quantas Australian Women's Sevens head coach, said the competition represents the next opportunity for women's rugby in Australia.
 

“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.”
 

The next rounds of the competition will take place in the following dates and venues: