10th anniversary: The lasting legacy of Australia’s Rio 2016 golden girls

Olympic heroes from the gold medal-winning Australian rugby sevens team walked onto the field at Sydney’s Allianz Stadium on Friday, one day before the 10th anniversary of their historic 24-17 win over New Zealand at Rio de Janeiro’s Deodoro Stadium.

The rugby sevens ‘golden girls’ were among Australia’s history makers in Rio, with the nation claiming eight gold across those Games. Charlotte Caslick raced away for a crucial try with five minutes left, as the Aussies raced out to a 17-point lead.

Kayla Ahki [nee McAlister] completed a double with two minutes left before a Portia Woodman-Wickliffe touched down for another five points late. But Australia had done enough on both sides of the ball, etching their names in Olympic folklore.

It’s a result that has inspired the next generation of girls and boys to chase their own Olympic and rugby union dreams. Current Australia Women’s Sevens captain Isabella Nasser has spoken in the past about idolising both Caslick and Sharni Smale [nee Williams].

Smale helped lead the team to Olympic gold, with Shannon Parry sharing co-captaincy duties throughout those Summer Games. Parry addressed the group at a celebration event on Friday, before Smale spoke about the impact that result had on Australian sport.

“We knew we’re going to win that gold medal though. We spoke it, we lived it, we breathed out at Narrabeen,” Smale told RugbyPass at Sydney’s Allianz Stadium.

“To now see kids of kids now running around and for myself, now that I’m out of the program and in and around Rat Park and seeing all these young kids coming through that have now been playing at four years old all the way through. That’s something you can’t put a medal on.

“What tears me up is that we were able to create something believable.

“I was an eight-year-old kid that wanted to go to the Olympics and win a gold medal. I’ve now been to three Olympics and I’ve competed and won one gold medal… seeing that now is super special because I haven’t been able to podium since.”

The Australia Women’s Sevens program already had a pioneering impact before the team had a chance to challenge for Olympic gold. In 2013, it became the first women’s set-up in Australian sport to train full-time, which paved the way for Olympic gold.

Tim Walsh coached the sevens side at those Olympics, and the rugby guru continues to have a trailblazing impact within Australian rugby today. Rugby Australia announced on June 21 that Walsh had been appointed the Director of Women’s High Performance.

There has been another significant shift in Rugby Australia’s high performance set-up for athletes in the sevens and XVs environments. Rugby Australia announced this week that 26 emerging female athletes had signed youth retention contracts for 2026.

“I appreciate behind the scenes so much more now being out of it. Once you’re in it, everyone looks after you and you’ve just got to perform. Once you’re out of it, you see the logistics of it, of getting a team overseas, of providing a high-profile program as well,” Smale said.

“Seeing the amount of effort that Tim Walsh has put it. The likes of Anthony Eddie, David Nuciforia, they were the starting of that sevens that put in some time and effort. Scott Bowen is still in around it. These guys are still creating a gold medal program, we’ve just got to get that next gold medal at the Olympics.

“It is super special being away from it and realising the impact that we did have. We did feel it when we got back in…. my little hometown was sitting there watching it and cheering away and it, so you’ve go back and home and all these kids and going, ‘Oh you’re an Olympian!’ And you go, Well, I’m actually just Sharni. I’m a human being first and then play footy.”

On the same day that Rugby Australia celebrated the gold medal-winning team from Rio 2016, the governing body announced three key re-signings ahead of the 2027 HSCBC SVNS Series. It’s another important moment for the program, as the team continues to build towards LA 2028.

Rhani Hagan hasn’t debuted on the SVNS Series yet, but the 20-year-old has earned a new deal through to the upcoming Olympics. Kiiahla Duff has penned a new deal, and Tia Hinds will return to the sevens set-up after some time in 15s.

Hinds has captained the Australia Women’s Sevens side once before, played a starring role in the SVNS World Championship wins in 2024 and 2026, and recently helped the NSW Waratahs secure the Super Rugby Women’s crown.

But a lot of this comes back to the groundbreaking achievements and work of the 2016 Rio gold medal winners. They are true trailblazers for the growth of women’s rugby in Australia, with the impact of that result continuing to bear fruit today.

“We thought we would impact it, we just needed a pathway to be able to create that for the next generation coming through,” Smale added.

“That’s when the [Next Gen 7s] Series was developed so then we had to create programs because it was the fastest-growing sport in the world at one point.

“We definitely believed in it, that it was going to happen. It’s pretty crazy still walking down the street and people are like, ‘You’re an Olympian!’ Or they see my tattoo… it stays with you forever. Once an Olympian, always an Olympian.”