Superstar skipper Charlotte Caslick is urging the Australian people to come up with a catchy moniker as the country’s triumphant women’s rugby sevens team eyes Olympic glory in Paris.
Fresh off winning the world series in Madrid at the weekend, the sevens champs will head to Paris as equal gold medal favourites with arch rivals New Zealand.
Tim Walsh’s dynamic outfit shapes as Australia’s best hope of snaring team gold in France, with the country’s women’s soccer and water polo sides and men’s hockey stars also genuine podium chances.
Charlotte Caslick of Australia runs in for a try during the 2024 Perth SVNS. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)
But while fans have the Matildas, Kookaburras, Wallabies, Kangaroos, Wallaroos, Jillaroos, Socceroos, Hockeyroos, Stingers and the like to cheer on at sport’s biggest events, Caslick reckons the Australian women’s sevens team doesn’t quite cut it.
Caslick’s side were briefly branded the Pearls, but that never stuck.
Now nicknames like the Possums, Tiger Beetles and Platypuses are being bandied about for Australia’s sassy sevens speedsters – and Caslick is on board.
“Definitely we’d be open to any of those names. We might have to put it to the people,” the 2016 Rio gold medallist told AAP.
“We always get asked what we’re called and I think we might actually be transitioning – I don’t know if it’s this year or next year – to the Wallaroos Sevens and Wallabies Sevens but it’s not really our own.
“We don’t have a name. Maybe we should put it to the Australian public and get them to name us.”
With just 51 days to the start of the Games, the countdown is on.
But whatever they are called, Caslick says the team will be heading to Paris brimming with belief after their heroics in Madrid.
“Playing France twice as well as (beating) New Zealand gives us lots of confidence,” said the star of Rio 2016 and former world player of the year.
“We lost the last couple of times to the Kiwis in the series so to get a win over them was really good.
“But we’re likely to cross over to France in the semi-final if all goes to plan in Paris, so to have two games against them as well was really helpful.”
The world series winners only arrived back in Sydney at 6am on Wednesday but, rather than resting on their laurels, they went straight to training after landing.
“You can probably see them in the gym. We’re having a good time after like 30 hours of travel and they still have lots of energy and bouncing around,” Caslick said.
“We’re in a really good place. The girls love playing for each other.
“So the more belief we can find in the group and within ourselves, the better and it seems we’re really finding that now.”