Rising rugby sevens ace Rhani Hagan flies to Japan on Sunday to take her next strides towards cracking a full-time spot in Australia’s sevens set-up.
Repeat appearances for Australia A like this one at the Hokkaido Sevens is the perfect stepping stone for the athletic Indigenous talent.
Hagan, 18, is already showing the natural speed and evasive qualities to take the step that recent Queensland teammates like Amahli Hala and Heidi Dennis have already made.
Hagan’s selection has a timely resonance with the Queensland Rugby Union celebrating its 14th Indigenous Round.
Saturday night’s Queensland Reds vs Fijian Drua match at Suncorp Stadium may be the focus but Indigenous Round is a celebration of talent at all levels of the game in Queensland.
“Indigenous Round is something I love to see. It’s really important for the way we get to share our culture through rugby,” Hagan said.
“Every way to get the message across is a good thing.
“I’m passionate about supporting Indigenous kids in schools and I’d like to find ways to get involved.”
Hagan’s own heritage runs through the Quandamooka people of North Stradbroke Island on her mother’s side and through the Kullilli people of her father in western Queensland.
While Hagan won’t get to wear the jersey herself, she is a big fan of the job done by former Reds player Madi Schuck in designing the 2025 Reds Indigenous jersey to be worn on Saturday night.
Hagan was part of the winning Aussie A team in Japan last year but knows how much of a challenge it will be to go back-to-back.
“It’s a high-quality tournament with some of the top Kiwi girls playing in Japanese teams. You feel the lift in intensity, physicality and speed at a tournament like this,” Hagan said.
“That’s a good thing because you get to test yourself.”
Japan, Dubai, Samoa and New Zealand have been some of the stops on her sevens journey so far.
Finishing Year 12 at St Aidan’s Anglican Girls’ School last year has given her more time to concentrate on her rugby. Coaching touch for Year 8s keeps her connected to her supportive alma mater.
The world sevens circuit, which Hala cracked for a debut in Hong Kong in April, is tantalising yet earning a spot in the Australian squad comes first.
“I’ve gone down to Sydney three times to train with the Australian squad girls which has been really good experience,” Hagan said.
“It’s been a good eye-opener. It’s obviously early stages for me.
“Just seeing girls like Amahli, Heidi and Kahli Henwood breakthrough is encouraging for me because I’ve played with them for Queensland.”
For the Australia A squad in Japan, Hagan will be joined by Ava Wereta, Tahli Devine, Tahlia Evans and Carys Dallinger from the QAS Reds Sevens squad.
In terms of talent identification, Dylan Blackman, the QRU’s Indigenous Strategies Manager, has just returned from an upbeat 10 days in north Queensland where more than 400 boys and girls were exposed to rugby.
The visit, beside Rugby Australia, included school visits in Cairns, Townsville, Innisfail and St Teresa’s College in Abergowrie plus Talent ID hubs in Cairns and Townsville.
“It was a great turnout of our kids who love sport. We had a 15-year-old boy who got to Cairns from Darwin so the enthusiasm is there,” Blackman said.
“It’s a matter of providing opportunities in rugby and a game like rugby sevens is a perfect way in to learn rules and a love for the game.”
First hand, Blackman also discovered he has an ally with an ideal role model.
Dynamic Australian sevens recruit Wallace Charlie, who recently made his debut in Los Angeles, is a Cairns product who finetuned his rugby as a boarder in Brisbane at St Peters Lutheran College.
“We know Wallace”…“He’s my best friend…“We played footy together”…some of the excited comments were just the connection you wanted to hear.
Players like Rhani Hagan and Wallace Charlie are showing the way.
