Sydney University Football Club will compete in the 2018 University Sevens Series which is expanding to a 10-team competition after being launched last year.
Sydney University and Melbourne University have been invited into the competition this year to competing against the inaugural teams: Bond University, Griffith University, University of New England, Macquarie University, University of Canberra, University of Adelaide, University of Tasmania and 2017 Champions the University of Queensland.
“After such a successful inaugural year of the Aon Uni Sevens Series we saw an immediate opportunity to expand the competition and have two very strong new additions in the University of Sydney and University of Melbourne for 2018,” Rugby Australia General Manager High Performance, Ben Whitaker said.
“The outcome is that we will have a stronger competition with more opportunities for players to compete across the 10 teams, which has benefits for the competition as well as for our national women’s Sevens program.
“With the inclusion of Melbourne there is now an Aon University Sevens presence in Brisbane, Gold Coast, regional Queensland, Sydney, regional NSW, Canberra, Melbourne, Tasmania and Adelaide.”
The University of Western Australia has been confirmed as the third new University to join the series in 2019.
UniSport Australia CEO Don Knapp welcomed the announcement of the two latest universities to join the Aon Women’s University Sevens Series.
“The inaugural year of the Series confirmed there is significant appetite for national league university competitions,” Mr Knapp said. “The Series is part of a nationwide focus on creating elite sporting pathways for female student-athletes.
“This collaborative initiative between UniSport Australia, competing universities, and Rugby Australia provides elite student-athletes with an unprecedented pathway to the Olympic and Commonwealth Games podia, while at the same time preparing them for a career beyond sport.”
The University Sevens Series will kick off later in the year with the 2018 draw to be confirmed in the coming weeks.
