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Olympic rugby sevens: preparation starts for Rio 2016
Jennifer Browning reported this story on Thursday, September 13, 2012 08:26:00
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TONY EASTLEY: The next Olympics in Rio may seem a long way down the track but with the introduction of rugby to the program preparations have already started.
Men's and women's rugby sevens will debut at the games in 2016 and already some countries are spending millions on developing their teams.
Over the next two months the Australian Rugby Union will host a series of talent camps aimed at finding potential athletes for its women's team.
Jennifer Browning has the story.
(Sounds from a football training session)
JENNIFER BROWNING: It's been a popular method of finding pop stars - now a talent quest is being used to find Australia's next generation of female rugby athletes.
(Sounds from a football training session)
If you're fit, fast and have a desire to represent your country and travel the world, rugby sevens may be for you.
REBECCA TAVO: It's so exciting and more so now it's an Olympic sport. Like that's a dream come true for everyone. You know, not many people get to do it and I'm very privileged and honoured to be able to do that.
JENNIFER BROWNING: Rebecca Tavo is the current Australian captain. And when she isn't in the north of Western Australia driving trains on the mines, she travels back to Brisbane to train with her team-mates.
REBECCA TAVO: I work two weeks out in the mines and I could start anywhere from 2am or 10pm at night and I work 12 hours. Obviously it's very challenging, you know, out in the heat by myself but it's just something that I'm prepared to do.
JENNIFER BROWNING: The flame of the London Olympics has barely been extinguished but for Australia's women's rugby sevens team the road to Rio has already started.
EMMA GILLOGLY: It's always been a dream of mine to go to the Olympics. I never thought it would be for rugby though. And to have this opportunity, I'll definitely take it with both hands.
JENNIFER BROWNING: Emma Gillogly, a talented touch football player, was targeted by the Australian Rugby Union to make the switch to seven's.
It was a similar for Emilee Cherry who until she started playing sevens had only travelled to New Zealand.
EMILEE CHERRY: If you'd asked me that a year ago there's no way I would have ever thought I would have had the opportunity to go to the Olympics ever. Playing a sport like rugby sevens now gives me that opportunity and yeah, it's quite unbelievable really.
JENNIFER BROWNING: That Olympic dream could become a reality for a lot more young Australians with the "pathway to gold" program about to start.
Trials will be held in Perth this weekend followed by Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.
Australia's head coach Chris Lane is encouraging every female athlete to come along and give it a try.
CHRIS LANE: We're looking to really, you know, broaden our base, broaden our talent pool as such and anyone from any sport please come and give it a try.
JENNIFER BROWNING: And the skipper says you don't even have to know anything about rugby.
REBECCA TAVO: You might have speed, fitness, strength, ball skills, anything that another sport might have that we might not have and you could be helping your country out. You could be representing Australia next year in Vegas some time.
JENNIFER BROWNING: The Australians are the current world champions and most recently they won the Asia Pacific sevens championships in Malaysia.
But nothing keeps the team focused more than the lure of an Olympic gold medal.
REBECCA TAVO: The big picture for Australia is 2016. So if we can get some younger girls, get some experience at the world cup, and I'll tell you by the time three or four years later, they're going to dominate.
TONY EASTLEY: Australian women's sevens captain Rebecca Tavo ending Jennifer Browning's report.
And you can see more on that story on ABC News 24's Grandstand at 7.30 tonight.
