Australia sevens stars — and couple — Charlotte Caslick and Lewis Holland stay focused for Commonwealth Games
RUGBY sevens ace Charlotte Caslick will not be tempted to break team rules by sneaking partner Lewis Holland into her room in the Commonwealth Games Village.
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RUGBY sevens ace Charlotte Caslick will not be tempted to break team rules by sneaking partner Lewis Holland into her room in the Commonwealth Games Village.
“We kind of like being separate,” Caslick said.
“When we go on tour it’s our nice time away from each other. We like to hang out with our friends.
“Emilee Cherry is my roommate and we are happy hanging out together.”
Caslick, 22, and Holland, 25, are cheekily referred to as the power couple of Australian rugby sevens.
The long-term partners will represent Australia in the Gold Coast edition of the Commonwealth Games in April. Their relationship runs much deeper than the seven-a-side game in which they both savoured gold at last weekend’s Sydney Sevens.
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“We both play rugby but off the field we don’t talk about rugby,” Holland said.
“We have the odd chat about training but I try to get away from rugby as much as I can otherwise you think about it too much.
“We’ve just bought a farm in Stanthorpe. We’re waiting for our cattle to turn up.
“That’s our little side hobby. It’s refreshing to be able to do that.”
Caslick and Holland were at Cbus Super Stadium at Robina on Thursday for the pool draws.
The women need only finish top two from a pool beside Fiji, England and Wales to reach the medal rounds.
“To be the first female team to win rugby at the Olympics and also the Comm Games would be incredible,” Caslick said.
“There is nothing better than being able to inspire young girls. I wish I got to grow up watching girls play rugby at the Commonwealth and Olympic Games.”
The men avoided facing the big three — New Zealand, Fiji and South Africa — in the pool stages but have drawn tricky opponents in England and Samoa.
Holland said the Sydney result had given the men a boost ahead of the Games.
“We’ve always had that belief we know we can win but being able to win will do wonders for our team,” he said.
“To start the year off like that on home soil … you couldn’t ask for a better start.
“It will be awesome to play here in front of friends and family in your own backyard.
“We used so much of our families’ energy to go out and get that win in Sydney.”
COMMONWEALTH GAMES SEVENS POOL DRAW
MEN:
Pool A: South Africa, Scotland, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia
Pool B: England, Australia, Samoa, Jamaica
Pool C: New Zealand, Canada, Kenya, Zambia
Pool D: Fiji, Wales, Uganda, Sri Lanka
(Only pool winner advances to semi-finals)
WOMEN:
Pool A: New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, Kenya
Pool B: Australia, Fiji, England, Wales
(Top two in each pool to semi-finals)
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