Year 12 schoolgirl Gase Tupuola-Palale will step up on Saturday as one of the new breed for the Queensland Reds when the Next Gen Sevens kicks-off for women.
The opportunities for women’s sevens players have never been greater with the raft of international opportunities both for the champion Australian side and now Australia A.
It all starts with the chances earned from the Next Gen Sevens series which will pit Queensland and NSW in Sydney, Toowoomba and Byron Bay this month.
Four matches between the states will be on the rapid-fire menu in Sydney on Saturday which suggests everyone in the 12-strong Reds squad will have a chance to shine.
The ever-smiling Tupuola-Palale is still just 17 and finishing her schooling at King’s Christian College on the Gold Coast.
Someone has also taught her to run at pace and stay elusive because she could be an eye-catcher on the wing or as a fast forward.
"It's very exciting to play in this series. It's only late last season that I started playing against women, rather than schoolgirls, for the first time," Tupuola-Palale said.
"I feel well prepared by my school coach and now at the Reds."
The Reds have integrated two 15-a-side players, 2023 Wallaroos flyhalf Carys Dallinger and pacy Queensland winger Caitlin Urwin, into this sevens campaign.
It is a positive step towards the Reds’ stated goal for their two women’s programs to work more closely.
Dallinger’s slick hands will be utilised but she may also pack down in the front-row at times too. She will be calling on her sevens experience from her early days in New Zealand.
The elusive Rhani Hagan is mixing touch and sevens right now, a proven path.
Reds co-coach Mari Belessis said the Next Gen Sevens series offered players a wonderful chance to improve under high-intensity match conditions.
“We do so much training, it will be exciting to watch everyone translate that into playing,” Belessis said.
“Through the support of the Queensland Academy of Sport, the girls also get access to physio, strength and conditioning, a dietician and a sports psychologist to advance their games.”
Bella Nasser and Kaitlin Shave played in Queensland’s Next Gen Sevens side last year. Both excelled to the point they played for Australia and represented at the Paris Olympics.
“A lot of our girls have trained and played with Bella and Kaitlin in Next Gen so it makes that jump to the next level seem more relatable. The girls look up to them,” Belessis said.
“Those two girls were good teammates with great attitudes and training ethic and that example helps as well. The same goes for Kahli Henwood who played at the Olympics.”
Another youngster who has earned selection is Madison Pomerenke, a ball-player with good footwork and a smart mind for playing the game.
Gold Coast’s Amahli Hala is an elusive mover who the Australian selectors have their eyes on.
All Reds games in the Next Gen Sevens will be streamed for free on rugby.com.au or Rugby Xplorer.
REDS NEXT GEN SEVENS SQUAD (for Sydney)
Taleah Ackland
Carys Dallinger
Sophie Duff
Tahlia Evans
Fleur Ginn
Rhani Hagan
Amahli Hala
Kianna Maclean
Faythe Manera
Madison Pomerenke
Gase Tupuola-Palale
Caitlin Urwin
