The Women's Rugby 7's will start today.
Australia will be taking on Japan at 11:30 and then China at 6:30.
Australia are the reigning Olympic champions winning gold in the 7's at Rio. Hopefully they can make it two-time Olympic champions. Five of the 2016 Rio squad return for the Australian side.
If Australia are any chance of becoming two-time champions then Charlotte Caslick needs to be on song. She's the key playmaker for this side. She was huge in 2016, especially in the final where she tore apart the Kiwis due to her speed and playmaking. Unfortunately, Ellia Green missed out on selection which is a shame because they have a good partnership. Ellia Green was huge for Australia in Rio and a big part of their win, but she hasn't been the same since her long lay-off from a knee injury so she was left out of the squad which was still a huge fucking call to make. She was very much suited for this format.
Shannon Parry and Sharni Williams will be the captains of this side. It's a rather inexperienced side so they will need to step up and guide this side around the park.
Three of the seven debutants in this side will also be making their debut in the 7's format, each coming with major hype surrounding their ability. Maddison Levi and Tia Hinds are both players I'm looking forward to watching.
Their group is as follows.
USA
Japan
China
USA will be our toughest opponents in the group matches. They won the World Series over 12 months ago and will be looking to build on that. They were the one side Australia didn't manage to beat at Rio with the game ending in a 12-all draw. However, the last time we played them we beat them 19-14 so we can beat them.
We've been dominant over both Japan and China so I'm not expecting much of a threat from them.
LET'S GO GIRLS!