Alicia Lucas column: Meet the rising Aussie Sevens stars dreaming of LA 2028

With the 2026/2027 HSBC SVNS Series fast approaching, the next generation of sevens stars for Australia have their eyes firmly focused on automatic qualification for the LA 2028 Olympics and securing an elusive Olympic Medal.

McKenzie Davis, 21, Amahlia Hala, 20, and Rhani Hagan, 20, names we have seen sprinkled throughout recent years, have been touted as the next group of Aussie 7’s talent that will form the backbone of the group that goes through to LA 2028. Three young guns set to light up the 7’s stage for the next two years and beyond.

Davis had a rapid rise in rugby, originally from a Touch Football background, and when she reflected on what it meant to debut for Australia back in 2024, she felt like she was “thrown in the deep end and didn’t quite believe it as it was truly a dream come true”. The honour of playing alongside women she had looked up to for so long as well as the opportunity to represent her family was a special one.

Hala on the other hand, first started playing 7’s when she was 11 years old. “Willed along” by her rugby family, she popped her trademark headgear on and as the smallest on the field she gave it a red-hot crack. After an 8-year journey, debuting for her country in Hong Kong in 2025 was “special as you see the years of hard work and sacrifices all paying off”. Pulling on the Aussie jersey for her family and her country held significant weight and killed two birds with one stone for Hala- seeing the world and playing the sport she loved!

Hagan, the youngest of the three, is yet to have the honour bestowed upon her on the international stage, but if she had to pick a 7’s destination to debut she couldn’t go past the “Perth 7’s”. “Perth would be special to debut as I would have all my family there. Although my parents would pick New York for me to debut, I’m sure”.

Hagan, a proud Quandamooka and Kullilli woman, relocated from her hometown of Ipswich, Queensland, to the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney in January this year after impressive hit-outs for Aus A and Next Gen 7’s teams. Although the youngster hasn’t thought too hard about her debut and what it would mean to her and her family, she “felt honoured to have the faith put in me, with big shoes to fill and working with Reg and Parko closely to build my confidence” after re-signing a contract through until the LA Olympics 2028 without playing a single game on the World Series circuit.

I can vividly remember my Olympic qualifying season back in 2014/2015, one of the most exciting years of my sevens career. The stakes, the pressure, the excitement and the sheer relief that came with booking your team’s ticket into the Olympic Games. Davis can’t quite believe that she is in a position now to help her team vying for qualification. “It’s hit us now we are back from pre-season, the enormity of this year. I’ve always looked up to girls in the program, and the Olympics is the pinnacle, a huge advantage of playing the sport and a big part of why we do it”.

Although they all admit they don’t want to get ahead of themselves, they do allow themselves the ability to dream big and work towards chasing the gold in LA (2028). Davis states, “everyone is aware, but the priority is getting in the best possible position for Dubai this year, although I’ve visualised the moment and it motivates me to want to do it with the girls we have and working hard to fulfil that”.

Hala considers it and wonders “how cool would it be” and often uses that thought as visual motivation. Hagan views the Olympic dream somewhat as an epic byproduct of wanting to change where her life was heading. She wanted variety from her touch football bubble, to move away from home, to experience being an adult and to be able to travel the world.

Well, hasn’t she found the right sport to do just that.

Having come off limited minutes on the circuit last season, Hala and Davis are now in fantastic positions to push for more game time this 2026/2027 season after changes in the Australian Women’s 7’s squad roster, a new head coach appointment in Reg Taylor and individual preseason experiences in the Ultimate 7’s for Davis and Taiyo Seimei 7’s in Japan for both of them.

Hala was purposeful in her off-season pursuits, wanting to “build more confidence and learn the ball playing role at a higher level and really dominate that”. Her involvement with the Nagato Blue Angels enabled her “time to focus on individual skills and put them into practice, with the consistency of game time hugely beneficial”. It was a great endeavour for her to become more familiar with the type of player she wants to become.

On the other side of the world, Davis was a shining light for the Clan Taran who reached the final in Rd 2 of the Ultimate Sevens in Biarritz. Her lighting feet and rapid turn of pace off the mark are assets the best of the best possess in the game of 7’s. At the elite level, game time isn’t guaranteed and non-selection at times knocked her confidence so Davis really wanted “to take advantage of all the footy I could get in the off season. Rugby needed to be fun again, confidence as a player is huge and I believe I’ve been set up for success with these experiences- ready to learn and grow”

Davis, Hala and Hagan all recently got a taste of pre-season game time with the tantalising show down against fierce rivals New Zealand at the Kick on 7’s and Quadruple header at Accor Stadium. Although not a capped event, it was the first time Hagan got to pull on the senior gold jersey with her family name and number on her back. The youngster didn’t shy away from the opportunity at hand, taking on some of the world’s best with her brilliant ball skills, sharp vision and eager enthusiasm. Interviewing her post-match was a delight- her beaming smile and wide eyes were the hallmark of a young woman who got the taste for big matchups and big occasions.

Based on their history, the Aussies 7’s women will be more than confident they will book an automatic spot for LA 2028 with the top 4 from HSBC SVNS World Series punching their seat through to LA 2028 at the end of this upcoming season. The Australian women have never not qualified via this route and gratefully so, as the stakes are so high and competitive in the Oceania region.  After personally securing automatic Olympic qualification in 2015 and 2019, it’s an incredible feeling knowing you are part of the way to that Olympic dream becoming a reality.

The talented trio are also acutely aware that sometimes the dream doesn’t always become a reality with the Australia Women’s Sevens missing out on podium spots the last two Olympic cycles. Although not directly involved, they have taken some key learnings individually from their current teammates. Hala notes that her biggest takeaway has been “on the biggest stages you have got to show up and the way women’s rugby is growing, you have to have depth in your squad to be the best in the game” Davis views it as “a privilege to have the learnings from the older girls in the squad and a big responsibility to take those learnings and be better for it”.

With a new head coach at the helm and a change of the guard in the playing roster, these three are excited about what the future holds for the Australian Women’s 7’s program, albeit a little shy with their ambitions about it. Getting back in the gold jersey regularly or pulling it on for the first time on the circuit are the next big stepping stones for these three women.

The job of automatic qualification and the hope of being selected for an Olympic Games, especially one that is going to be of the magnitude of LA 2028 kind of makes Davis want to cry at the thought. “The fear, the hard work, the uncertainty. It would have all paid off.” Daring to dream big should be applauded for this young group and even though there is still a big part of the journey to go, the dazzling lights of LA and the lure of an Olympic medal are shining brightly in their sights.