The last tournament of the University Women’s Seven series was set on Ngunnawal Country (Canberra) with UWA Maali Sevens finishing the series with a copper ending, securing 3rd place overall.
The University Women’s Sevens series is a tournament for senior female rugby sevens players representing universities from around Australia. With the support of Rugby Australia, the 2022 season will consists of three tournaments hosted in Adelaide, Newcastle, and Canberra throughout October. The third and final tournament hosted by the University of Canberra on Ngunnawal country will consist of six regular round games before teams enter the play offs.
The current UWA Maali squad have placed themselves in prime position to end the series on the podium with quality performances at the previous tournaments. The final tournament of the tri series proved to be a gruelling battle for Maali Sevens team, with the playing group starting the first day with two loses to Melbourne University and University of Sydney. Injuries plagued the UWA Maali side, but the team re-grouped and produced a clinic performance against the University of Adelaide with a comfortable margin to close out the first day. A key focus for the coaching group was to build the future of the game with a few new additions to the squad, including Sarah Hynes, Cara Gerber and Keira MacSkill.
Building strong combinations in the lead up to the last tournament was pivotal to ensuring UWA Maali Sevens would secure a third consecutive finals birth in Canberra. The UWA Maali Sevens made a valiant effort to compete with the tough challenge presented by rival universities on the last day of competition. Unfortunately, the new line up were unable to get over the line against stiff opponents on the second day, finishing 6th for the Canberra tournament.
Overall, the talented side walk away from the 2022 University Women’s Seven series with a each player gaining exposure to the series. UWA Maali have exceeded the triumphs of the 2019 Maali squad with UWA only competing in two of the five series. The recent squad have set a high standard with UWA Maali Sevens finishing third overall for the 2022 series, establishing a strong foundation for the future of the sport.
Congratulations to each player, coach and manager of the UWA Maali Sevens team for winning the bronze medal for the University Women's Seven Series 2022.
Full fixtures for the weekend's matches can be found on the UniSport Australia website, and all matches can be replayed via UniSport TV.