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Australia schoolboy star one of seven to watch at Global Youth 7s
By Adam Julian
Some of the world’s best emerging rugby sevens talent will be put to the test in Auckland just before Christmas, with the Global Youth Sevens (U18) set to be contested at Dilworth School.
This 80-team tournament, now in its 10th year, will feature a record 31 overseas entries (17 boys teams, 14 girls teams), including defending champions Japan (girls) and Australia (boys), in action from December 19-21.
The vast majority of players will be sourced from the host nation, New Zealand, and its next-door neighbour, Australia. Here are seven players to keep an eye on.
Tommy McQuoid (New Zealand Under 18)
Nicknamed “Ethereal” due to his agility, grace and racehorse-like speed (Ethereal won the 2001 Melbourne Cup), Tommy McQuoid achieved the remarkable feat of scoring at least one try in every Super 8 game for Tauranga Boys’ College in 2025. Since its inception in 1998, the Super 8 competition has produced 14 of New Zealand’s annual National champions. He also scored four tries against Wellington College, an almost unheard-of feat, three of which were from beyond halfway.
In 2024, he helped Tauranga win the National Condor Sevens for the first time, and this year, he helped drive the “Titians” to the final.
A Chiefs Under-18 representative with one year left in high school, McQuiod’s father, Grant McQuiod, was an All Black Sevens representative who played 50 games for Bay of Plenty, part of the historic 2004 Steamers who won the Ranfurly Shield for the first time. His brother Jay McQuiod captained Tauranga’s First XV in 2025 and was also selected in the Chiefs Under 18s.
Calvin Harris-Tavita (New Zealand Cavaliers)
The strapping, talismanic King’s College fullback, already signed with NRL champions the Brisbane Broncons, has been hailed by some Australian press as the “ next Benji Marshall,” considered to be further advanced than his older brother, Warriors star Chanel Harris-Tavita, was at a similar stage of life.
Calvin helped King’s win their 17th 1A Auckland championship in 2025 with audacious, scything runs and assured defence from fullback. The 17-year-old has already cultivated well over 12,000 followers on TikTok.
The Cavaliers should be among the leading contenders to win. Keanu and Cruiz Simpson, out of Sacred Heart College, are the brothers of Auckland and New Zealand Under-20’s first-five or fullback Rico Simpson. At the same time, John Schaumkell, a King’s College teammate of Tavitia Harris, is nicknamed the “Red Barron” because of his conspicuous red headgear and daring, dynamic approach.
Treyvon Pritchard (Australia Under 18)
When Australia crushed the New Zealand Secondary Schools 81-48 and 55-33 in two internationals in Canberra in October, Anglican Church Grammar School second five-eighth Treyvon Pritchard ran amok, scoring three tries across both games and contributing several more with his incisive running, broad vision, and precise distribution. For his exceptional efforts, Pritchard received the prestigious Rugby News Bronze Boot award, which is given to “the most constructive player in a schools test series.”
Notable past winners of this award include former Wallabies Liam Gill, Rob Horne, George Smith, and Phil Waugh. Australia is the defending Global Youth boys champions, with Wallace Charlie named the 2024 tournament MVP. Known as the “Erub entertainer,” Charlie has already represented the Australian senior team in SVNS.
Fletcher Cooper (Tsunami Wavewearers)
The precocious first five-eighths couldn’t quite follow in the footsteps of Todd Miller, Ben Atiga and Nico Stanley by being selected for New Zealand Secondary Schools as a Year 11 – but nobody could have complained if he had. Fletcher Cooper scored a mammoth 234 points for the Wellington Premiership winners St Patrick’s College, Silverstream, breaking the previous record of 233 points set by future All Black Simon Mannix in 1989.
He demonstrates maturity well beyond his years, with pace, balance, tactical smarts, and the rare ability to kick with both feet. His late drop goal in a quagmire from 35m to clinch a 16-15 triumph over Wellington College on June 12 is the stuff of legend. Cooper has already been a national age group basketball representative.
The Tsinami Wavewareres will be coached by All Blacks Sevens representatives Che Clarke and brothers Kitiona and Cody Vai.
Taukaea Ngatai-Cribb (New Edition Girls)
Manukura in Palmerston North is the dominant force in New Zealand Secondary Schools girls’ rugby, having won three of the last four national Condors Sevens titles and four consecutive Hine Pounamu National First XV titles.
At the Condor Sevens in Mount Maunganui, Manukura didn’t concede any points in three pool matches and during the second half of the final, improving their event record to 23 wins and one loss since 2022.
Remarkably, despite this success, Manukura had no players selected for the Condors Sevens tournament team or the New Zealand Under-18 squad. It’s worth noting that nine of the 12 players in Manukura’s squad were in Year 12 or younger, with a third of them in Year 10.
That doesn’t mean Manukura’s impact will be absent at the Global Youth Sevens.
Ngatai-Cribb, a nimble, brave, clever playmaker, will feature for New Edition. In the Condor Sevens final against defending champions Howick College of Auckland, she scored the opening try with a wicked right-foot step and a graceful 70m stride.
However, her later try from 55m out, feasting on a Howick mistake just before halftime, was absolutely pivotal. A 17-5 deficit was reduced by seven, and with momentum and a champion’s killer instinct, Manukura didn’t concede in the second half.
Asha Taumoepeau-Williams – (New Zealand Under 18 Girls)
A powerhouse centre in both Union and League, Taumoepeau-Williams has played a pivotal role in helping Howick College in West Auckland win the last two Blues First XV championships, as well as the 2024 National Condor Sevens. In two thrilling Hine Pounamu National Top Four matchups against the champions, Manukura, over the past two years, she scored three tries to heighten anxiety for the formidable M?ori powerhouse briefly. In 2025, she made six appearances for Auckland in the Farah Palmer Cup.
Her rugby league resume is equally impressive. In April 2024, she scored four tries as the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs made history with a convincing 36-0 victory over the Wests Tigers in the inaugural grand final of the Westpac Lisa Fiaola Cup. Throughout the season, Taumoepeau-Williams scored 15 tries in 10 victories.
Darci Turinui (Australia Under 18 Girls)
Australia is expected to be a top contender, having won the tournament in 2018, 2019, and 2023, and finishing as runners-up in 2017, 2022, and 2024. Waiaria Ellis, who played for the Wallaroos at the Rugby World Cup in August and September, headlines the team; however, Darci Turinui, the daughter of former Wallaby and outspoken commentator Morgan Turinui, is expected to make some noise.
Turinui was the leading try scorer in the Next Gen 7s competition held in August and has played at a senior level for her club, Easts, as well as representing New South Wales. She has caught the attention of the Daily Telegraph, which described her as “a speedy winger with vision and who punches well above her weight.” The Courier Mail praised the St. Clare’s College Waverley product, calling her a “tough, agile, fast winger.”
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