Australian schools rugby championship Day 3: Tik Tok behind transformation, result wrap
Tik Tok tuition and the backing of teammates has turned this rugby league young gun into a Rugby Sevens speedster. Australian schools rugby latest and day 3 result wrap.
NSW
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A fortnight ago teenager Sienna Thomas had never played a game of Rugby Sevens. Now she and her teammates are on track to win the Australian schools rugby championship at Eric Tweedale stadium on Thursday.
Thomas, just 16, was drafted into the NSW I’s schoolgirl sevens team to fill an injury gap after team officials contacted her mum and asked if she would play.
“I’ve never seen a game live before and only watched a little bit on TV,’’ said the NSW Central Coast footballer.
“But I did do a school project on Charlotte Caslick (Australian Olympic Sevens star) because I had to do it on someone in a sport that you didn’t do.
“They rang my mum and said they had seen me play league and was I interested and mum told them I didn’t know anything about the game. But I went and did a training session and really enjoyed it.”
DAY ONE WRAP HERE
DAY TWO WRAP HERE
Thomas, who lives at Summerland Point on the Central Coast and attends Saint Brigid’s, said she turned to social media for a little extra tuition before the Australian schools rugby championships kicked off this week.
“I watched some YouTube and also some TikTok on Sevens which really helped a lot and I go some good tips,” she said.
“The hardest thing for me has been the rucks. But I really like the fact that you get lots of space and can use your speed.
“And the girls and the coaches have been so good to me. They have just been so supportive and it’s been great fun.”
Thomas is playing alongside some of the rising stars of the game in Anaia Cruickshank,Caitlyn Halse, Lili Boyle, Damita Betham, Manua Moleka, Piper Simons, Waiaria Ellis, Pyper Marchant, Rory Muller, Chanel Williams and Chaela-Lee Falls at the tournament.
Thomas has been involved with the Roos and Roosters rugby league clubs on the Central Coast and also plays touch football and OzTag.
“I played in the Australian under 15s in touch and 16s in OzTag,’’ said Thomas, who also made the NSW CCC team in rugby league.
Thomas and her new teammates in the NSW I side have been the form team of the Rugby Sevens tournament being played alongside the school boys 15s event at Granville this week.
The NSW side beat the ACT 46-0 in the first game with Symons scoring a trifecta.
In the next game they beat the NSW II side 45-0 with Symons scoring twice and Falls also snaring a double while Williams nailed three conversions.
The NSW side then beat the Queensland open team 43-0, with Simons collecting her second trifecta.
In their next game against the Lloyd McDermott open girls sevens team, NSW racked up a massive 64–0 win. In this game Thomas went over for three tries while Williams made five conversions.
In round six NSW beat the ACT 53-0 with Falls and Williams both scoring two tries each.
In their next game they defeated the NSW II side 27-0 with Thomas and Falls both scoring doubles.
In their round eight matchup against the Queensland open side on Wednesday, NSW emerged as 41-5 winners with Betham and Simons scoring two tries each and Halse converting two.
In their second outing against Lloyd McDermott on Wednesday, NSW put 59 unanswered points on the board with Thomas scoring three tries in a great performance.
Thursday is the final day of the Australian schools rugby championships with both the schoolboy and school girls teams in action.
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