Written by Nathan Williamson on Oct 09, 2024 12:00 PM, courtesy of rugby.com.au Source article.
Sevens superstar Charlotte Caslick has reaffirmed her commitment to push for the 2025 Rugby World Cup as she opens up about a potential stint in the 15-a-side format.
The four-time Shawn Mackay Medalist has done it all in Sevens, including taking out gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
After appearing in her third Olympics, Caslick revealed she has been in discussions about a potential stint for the Queensland side in Super Rugby Women’s in 2025.
“I’d still love to play. I’ve been talking to (Andrew) Fraser in Queensland around playing Super Rugby W (in 2025),” she told Rugby.com.au and RugbyPass
“I have said that if I play SRW, I’ll only play for Queensland (laughs). Hopefully I’ll get to do that at the start of next year just to get some footy under our belts.
“It’s obviously hard aligning with the Sevens series. We don’t have our full calendar yet so definitely it’s a goal.”
This would see her switch between the two programs with an eye towards making her Wallaroos debut later in the year if selected ahead of August’s World Cup.
“I played a season (of 15s) before I was contracted to Sevens but since we’ve been contracted, we didn’t get the time so it’s not huge but I watch it a lot. When I played I was 17 so it’s a long time ago. I was playing 10 or 15 and I’d just get the ball and just run around but it’s obviously evolved since then,” she notes.
“If I play for Queensland, I would like to play 15. I feel like I was to play 10 and coming in and out of Sydney into camp, it’s so disruptive to the team.
“I’m happy to play wherever. I just want to play and get the opportunity and wherever they think I’d be best, I’m happy to give it a go.”
How this will work in practice remains in the air with the full SVNS and Super Rugby W schedule yet to be confirmed.
In March, Queensland Rugby Union appointed Nico Andrade as their first full-time Women’s High-Performance Manager, designated to help better align the sevens and 15-a-side game.
This has seen the likes of reigning Rugby Australia Rookie of the Year and Wallaroo Carys Dallinger feature in Nex Gen Sevens for Queensland alongside breakout SRW star and Australia A winger Caitlin Urwin.
Caslick will start pre-season training with the Sevens program on Wednesday, joking they she’s enjoyed ‘veteran privilege’ as the rest of her team sweat it out over the past fortnight.
They’ll open their season with events in Dubai and Cape Town in December before returning to Perth in January.
Caslick was hopeful her teammates would join her in entertaining the idea of pushing their case for a Wallaroos call-up to bolster their stocks as they contend for a WXV 2 title.
“I think hopefully a lot of the Sevens girls are looking towards the Rugby World Cup next year,” she added.
“I think it’s going to be an amazing spectacle for women’s Rugby so for us to be a part of that would be really cool.”
