Fresh twist as Wallaroos coach shares update on selecting more SVNS stars

The door remains ajar for HSBC SVNS Series stars like Maddison Levi and Isabella Nasser to potentially play at this year’s Women’s Rugby World Cup, with Wallaroos coach Jo Yapp providing an update on selection last weekend in Newcastle.

Levi broke try-scoring records on the top-flight sevens circuit during the 2023/24 season, and carried that standout form into the Paris Olympics, where Australia fell painfully short of a medal after shock losses to Canada and Ilona Maher’s USA.

Rugby Australia would later announce in December that Levi was one of nine sevens players who had committed to Super Rugby Women’s clubs ahead of the 2025 campaign. But fast forward to April, and only three of these athletes made the grade with the Wallaroos.

Three-time Olympian Charlotte Caslick headlined a talented trio, including one-time Australia Sevens captain Tia Hinds and former Wallaroo Bienne Terita. There was no place in the original 40-player wider squad for the other SVNS players, and they haven’t been added since.

Yapp revealed last week that the other sevens athletes “have not made themselves available” after calling six others from 15s into the squad for the Pacific Four Series. After last weekend’s 38-12 loss to the Black Ferns, the coach explained exactly what that meant.

“The latest on that is that we’ve spoken to all the girls, and as it stands, they said they don’t want to make themselves available. Through this whole process, it’s been player choice,” Yapp told reporters on Newcastle last weekend.

“Through every step we’ve gone through, whether that’s Super W or coming into camps, we’ve asked them, ‘Do you still want to be involved?’ They obviously came back from LA and they’ve made the decision that they want to prioritise their rest and recovery.

“They’ve had a long season and we respect that. The door isn’t shut in terms of if they were to change their mind but obviously they’d have to come into camps and we’d have to see them training.

“As it stands, that’s where we are.”

Australia started their Pacific Four Series campaign with a valiant performance against rivals New Zealand at Newcastle’s McDonald Jones Stadium. The Black Ferns retained the Laurie O’Reilly Cup but there were plenty of positives for the Wallaroos to run with.

After falling behind 26-nil at the break, the Wallaroos clawed their way back into the contest, with Eva Karpani crashing over for a drought-breaking score. That was the Wallaroos’ first try against the Black Ferns on Australian soil since 2022.

Ashley Marsters also scored soon after, which had fans daring to dream of a once improbable comeback. While the Black Ferns did enough to hang on, with 18-year-old Braxton Sorensen-McGee scoring twice on debut, there were good signs from the Wallaroos.

“Really proud of the effort; more so the effort that goes on behind the scenes to be able to produce somewhere near what we knew what they were capable of,” Yapp said.

“What’s interesting though is there’s still the disappointment that’s in the squad which is a good thing because actually, there were times where we just let ourselves down a little bit.

“When we play to how we know we wanted to play from an attacking perspective, we started to get on top and we just need to see more of that.

“But on the whole, pleased with the growth.”