How sevens set Corey Toole on the path to Super Rugby stardom

Brumbies flyer Corey Toole stands out as a rare talent in Australian rugby, already carving out a special place in the sport’s history – and after another strong Super Rugby Pacific season, higher honours with the Wallabies may follow.

Ardie Savea, Michael Hooper, Bryan Habana and Antoine Dupont are all considered legends in the Test rugby arena, and all four made the switch to sevens during their careers. Dupont did it best, winning the HSBC SVNS Series and Olympic gold at the Paris Games.

But those examples, and so many more, have shown time and time again that it’s pretty hard to successfully jump between rugby union’s two codes. That brings us back to Toole, who went the other way; initially going from sevens to 15s, and then back again for the Olympics.

Toole helped Australia win their first-ever men’s World Series [SVNS Series] crown during the 2021/22 season before joining the Brumbies on a full-time deal. In the capital, Toole has been nothing short of prolific, scoring nine tries this season alone.

Having featured three times for Australia A against Tonga, Portugal and England A over the last couple of years, Toole is on the radar for Wallabies selection. Whether or not that happens remains to be seen, but Toole is one of Australia’s best wingers, partly thanks to sevens.

“Yeah it’s massive. Felt quite comfortable coming into the Brumbies program with the high-speed metres. It’s probably doing nearly double in the training scheme with sevens, so I feel my body was able to adjust to the running load quite well,” Toole told RugbyPass.

“Probably another benefit from the sevens program was just defending with a  lot of space on your own, getting exposed quite well in sevens, kind of an island I guess – there’s not too many people to help you make a tackle.

“That and covering tackles as well, in sevens you’re just chasing tackles all day so it always helps when you can chase down someone in 15s as well.

“There’s a lot of transferable skills from sevens.”

Head-to-Head

Last 5 Meetings

Wins

3

Draws

0

Wins

2

Average Points scored

31

29

First try wins

20%

Home team wins

80%

Two weeks ago, the Brumbies made a significant announcement with Toole putting pen to paper on a new deal for the 2026 season. In a statement, Toole spoke about wanting to help deliver success to the “loyal fans” who call Canberra home.

Toole has been a mainstay of the Brumbies’ starting side, and it seems likely that’ll remain the case for at least one more campaign.

“There was a little bit of interest overseas but my number one goal is to play for the Wallabies and you can’t really do that if you go overseas,” Toole explained.

“That’s why I wanted to stay in Canberra. I love it here and I love the group of boys around me; the coaching staff, the players that are staying.

“I didn’t really want to leave and it’s another opportunity for me to potentially be in the Wallabies squad.”

Toole started the season with some solid form, scoring a try in games against the Western Force and Chiefs early in the campaign. While the speedster went three matches without scoring from there, Toole’s try-scoring form returned – crossing for four in three starts.

Having scored seven tries in eight matches to round out the regular season, Toole has hit form at the right time for the Brums, who have their sights set on a Qualifying Final in Canberra against the high-flying Hurricanes.

These teams last met at GIO Stadium on April 26, with the Canes securing a thrilling 35-29 win on the road. This time around, it’s possible both teams still make the semi-finals, as the Brumbies could potentially progress as the highest-ranked loser if they’re beaten.

“We obviously played them a few weeks ago, a month ago, and we lost, which is quite disappointing. Same on the weekend when we lost to the Crusaders,” he reflected.

“We’ve come in this week with a lot to rectify and there’s a lot of positive energy trying to fix what’s wrong and hopefully we can put a good performance out there on the weekend.”