THE Hunter region's women players will no longer have to make a 700-kilometre round trip to play at the top level with Newcastle University to field a team in the AON Uni sevens series next year.
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Introduced in 2017, the Uni series is a pathway to the national team. In past years, Hunter players have been drafted into the University of New England team in Armidale and had to travel for training camps or attend satellite sessions away from the main squad.
However, now they will be able to train and play on their own doorstep after Newcastle University took the place vacated by UNE.
"It is an elite prgram and a pathway into the national team," Newcastle University head coach Tony Munro said. "We want to give that opportunity to girls in Newcastle. Girls in Armidale had that opportunity and Newcastle, the sixth biggest city in Australia, didn't. When you have six girls travelling from here to Armidale to train, it's crazy. We felt we should have been part of it."
The squad will be consist of 24 players, with 12 to be used at each tournament. The series was cancelled in 2020 this year due to COVID-19 and is set to resume in March 2021.
Munro and Newcastle University director of rugby Bobby Harrison will oversee the program but the sevens squad will have its own coaching, medical and administration staff.
"Things have to happen pretty quickly," Munro said. "It starts in March and we want to be on the ground and running by November 1. We have been talking to potential coaches.
"We are envisaging two-to-three weeks of training and trials. Then we will pick a squad and get into it."
Hunter Wildfires captain Peta Salter and teammates Sophie Clancy and Trudi Peterson were part of the 2020 UNE squad, which didn't play.
NSW Super W star Maya Stewart was among seven Hunter players who turned out for UNE in 2019 when they finished ninth. Others included Emma Bradford, Nicole and Leilani Nathan, Britney Duff and Anika Butler.
"Obviously those players will be a starting point," Munro said.
The 10 teams will divided into two regions. The top three from each will progress to a national tournament'
The program will utilise the facilities at Newcastle University and work with the student body to ensue it is run professionally.
"We have facilities in place, we have medical staff, administration people who are happy to do that type of work, we have video equipment to do the analysis, GPS trackers, we have access to Uni students and will use them as part of that process. ... we can do it in-house," Munro said.
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