“Charlotte can do anything”: Motherhood and a fourth Olympics possible for Rugby Sevens’ super star Charlotte Caslick

Having known her since she was 17, long time mentor and Australian women’s Rugby Sevens coach Tim Walsh has no doubt Charlotte Caslick can balance being a mum and a fourth Olympic Games in 2028.

Charlotte Caslick at the 2024 HSBC Canada Sevens in February. Picture: Don MacKinnon/AFP

Whether she’s breaking tackles on the rugby field or breaking down barriers off it, Charlotte Caslick has never placed any limits on what she can do.

Currently in Hong Kong as captain of the Australian women’s team, Caslick is already a two-time Olympian and bona fide legend of sevens rugby.

She’s on track for a third Olympic appearance at Paris later this year, and hasn’t ruled out a fourth appearance at Los Angeles in 2028, though she knows there’s never any guarantees so is sticking to the athlete’s mantra of taking it one step at a time.

A former child prodigy, she is now one of the senior members of the national squad, surrounded by teammates who were inspired to take up the game after watching her in action.

In years gone by, that might have been her cue to take her final curtain call and exit stage left but Caslick’s not even close to being done yet.

“I’d love to keep playing for as long as I possibly can,” she said.

“But I also want to have a family at some stage.

“I guess that’s something that doesn’t wait forever. So, I think after Paris it’s something that I will definitely consider.

“Rugby Australia has got a great maternity policy so it opens up the opportunity for me to do both, which is really cool.”

Charlotte Caslick won gold for Australia at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Picture: EPA/Armando Babani

For all its blunders in the boardroom and with the men’s professional game, Rugby Australia has been at the forefront of promoting women’s sport and the days have long gone when female athletes had to choose between motherhood and continuing their sporting careers.

If Caslick decides to have children after Paris and still compete at LA, she knows it won’t be a walk in the park because it’s still a demanding juggling act for any elite athlete.

But her long time mentor Tim Walsh, who coached Caslick in Rio de Janeiro and also her partner Lewis Holland at the Tokyo Olympics, said he has no doubts she can have it all and leave another legacy for future generations to follow.

“Charlotte can do anything,” Walsh said. “There’s an aura about her because she’s a superstar.

“I’ve known Charlotte since she was 17 so we do talk about lots of different things in her career and if that’s something that she wants to do, which she certainly does, I would back her to be able to do anything.

“The world’s changing and I feel like the women’s program here has been a huge driver and a pioneer in many, many different factors within women’s sport, particularly women’s contact sport, whether it be centralisation, full time salaries, equal salaries, maternity programs, and providing an environment that gives every opportunity for an individual to perform at their best.

“We go into a lot of details and science about how to perform and it includes going into post-partum, into having a baby and coming back into the game because you don’t want to lose that IP (intellectual property) and that expertise because, I think in our opinion, it may even make them a better person and a better player.”

Two-time world rugby women's sevens player of the year Charlotte Caslick with Australian coach Tim Walsh. Picture: Toby Zerna

When she started out more than a decade ago, Caslick was a teenage wonderkid with the raw talent and ambition to achieve anything she set her heart on.

That can sometimes become an added burden that can shortcut a young athlete’s career but she just took it all in her stride.

Now, she’s an established icon of the international game, with a bulging trophy cabinet that includes gold medals from the 2016 Rio Olympics, the 2022 Commonwealth Games and the 2022 World Cup.

At the end of 2022, she was named world female sevens player of the year for the second time and Walsh says she’s still discovering ways to keep improving rather than any signs of slowing down.

“She’s always had that maturity and composure to be able to perform under immense pressure but what people don’t see is the work Charlotte does off the ball,” he said.

“Her work rate is incredible, her engine is incredible and her defence is fantastic. She probably didn’t have the physicality as a 17-year-old that she now has as a 29-year-old but it’s a real point of difference in her game.

“She’s developed into a complete player in attack, in defence and even in tactical kicking.

“Every year she’s made marginal gains by picking up different things and to have consistency over such a long period of time is a real testament to her character.”

All roads lead to the Paris Olympics. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Damian Shaw

They may not get the same hype and exposure as the Matildas but the Australian rugby sevens team is undoubtedly one of the most consistently successful women’s teams wearing green and gold on the world stage.

They are currently ranked number one in the world so will head into the Paris Olympics as one of the favourites to win the gold medal with Caslick front and centre of it all.

“She’s the spine. She’s the backbone. She’s the empress. She was there from the start,” said Walsh.

“She’s pioneered and paved the way and developed the culture of the team in her own way.

“There’s been lots of other factors that go into it, but when you’ve been around that long and you’ve been that good and you’re that kind of personality, you’re gonna have a huge impact on the program.

“It’s not without its challenges. Don’t get me wrong, because you’re going to have lulls and you’re going to get demotivated and all that kind of stuff, but the competitive nature and will to win is something to be admired over such a long period.”

Originally published as “Charlotte can do anything”: Motherhood and a fourth Olympics possible for Rugby Sevens’ super star Charlotte Caslick