UQ to compete in historic women’s sevens series

The University of Queensland will play a central role in an exciting advent for female sport, following confirmation UQ will field a team in the inaugural national women's rugby sevens competition. UQ students, as well as members of Australia's Rio 2016 gold medal-winning women's rugby sevens squad, will represent Team UQ in the inaugural AON Women's Uni Sevens Series. Australian Rugby Union (ARU) General Manager of High Performance Ben Whittaker said the competition would feature eight universities representing five states and territories. "It will be an elite domestic competition with a national footprint, which will act as a stepping stone towards national selection," Mr Whitaker said. "The best rugby sevens players in the country will take part, so it'll be fantastic to watch." The all-women's competition, commencing August 2017 and running until October, will consist of four two-day tournaments, with a cumulative points score used to determine a series winner. UQ will host the series' second tournament at the UQ Sport Athletics Centre in September, with the exact date to be confirmed. Members of the Australian women's sevens squad, and state-level representative players, will be divided among the participating teams.