Will Cartwright: The combine standout who became an Australia Sevens hero

France made history on the first day of the 2025/26 HSBC SVNS Series, smashing defending League Winners Argentina 59-7 in Dubai. It was France’s highest-ever score against Los Pumas Sevens, and had them well paced ahead of a semi-final against Australia.

Les Bleus Sevens booked their spot in the final four with a 19-14 triumph over last season’s world champions the Blitzboks. Australia won two of their three matches on day one, as three debutants began to find their feet within a new-look squad.

In a 14-minute match, defence was king. It was nil-all at half-time, and the score didn’t change until midway through the second term. Will Cartwright broke the deadlock with an effort in the 10^th minute, before the debutant completed a double to seal a 14-0 victory.

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Cartwright got the ball about 40 metres out from the try line, feeling all the nerves and pressure that came with that moment, but refusing to show it. The 22-year-old split two French defenders with a left foot step, leaving Jordan Sepho scrambling in defence.

James McGregor added the extras to give Australia a 7-0 lead, but the semi-final thriller was far from over. Australia controlled possession and dominated the territory battle from then, looking to close out the match and seal their spot in the big dance.

With 31 seconds left on the clock, Cartwright charged to a breakdown and picked up the ball without losing any pace. As a scrum-half or winger in 15s, the SVNS Series newcomer showcased those skills – running into open space and towards a Dubai Sevens Cup Final.

“Dream is probably the only way to describe it. I went on, we had a scrum on our line and it was our ball, and I was just hoping that we got the ball, Cartwright told RugbyPass.

“I was pretty nervous. I probably wasn’t thinking too much of the attack… I was just kind of nervous with what they could attack with, we saw them pump the Argies the day before,”

“I don’t really know how to describe it. There wasn’t too much thought going through my head which is probably a better thing.

“Thank God our boys defended so well that first half, once I got on the defenders were tired, they were gone, didn’t have too much else to throw at us.

“I think it was really helpful going on in that second half, once the boys had defended so well. France had no answers for that first half [defence] I think from us.”

Cartwright’s journey to the Dubai Sevens decider is a story of persistence, resilience, and an all-or-nothing approach at cracking the big time. The flyer debuted for the Queensland Reds against Wales in July 2024, and scored a try against the Western Force in Super Rugby AUS.

It’s safe to say Cartwright is a young talent on the rise, but the Queenslander was preparing to potentially return to a job site if a shot with Australia Sevens didn’t work out. After impressing with Brothers in Queensland Premier Rugby, Cartwright was invited to an Australia Sevens Combine.

Invitees trained for three days, before a two-day tournament-style competition. Three-time Olympian Henry Hutchison challenged the trialists that week, with some “pretty talented boys” missing out on deals with Australia Sevens.

Cartwright signed a full-time contract with the national sevens program, continuing to train hard in the off-season. Coach Liam Barry selected Cartwright as one of three debutants in the touring squad for the season opener in Dubai.

“I’d be lying if I said I was sleeping well. I was up a lot during the night trying to fight the jet lag as well and then couldn’t stop thinking about the game,” Cartwright reflected.

“Now that there’s only eight teams, the intensity and the pressure I did feel.

“The young blokes, it’s been very easy for us with those older boys… they’ve set the platform, they’ve set the areas that we need to be the best at. It’s easy for us to then just go out and play footy on top of that,” he added later.

“Training’s been unbelievably intense and a few hard conversations during that so then when we came out in Dubai, it’s very easy for us young boys or new boys to just fall in play, play how we want to play within the team.

“It’s probably hats off to the older boys making it so easy for us new guys to just fall into the team. The team environment’s unbelievable. We’re sitting for hours at dinner and lunch where we’re always together as 13 blokes, even the coaches, everyone’s very close.”

Cartwright seemed to improve in every match, growing in confidence as the stakes rose higher and higher for the Australian side. In the final against arch-rivals New Zealand, Cartwright scored one of the team’s four tries in the agonising 22-26 defeat.

SVNS Series veteran Maurice Longbottom gave Australia the lead with an early effort, before the All Blacks Sevens hit back through vice-captain Dylan Collier. Akuila Rokilsoa and Sione Molia added to New Zealand’s lead before Cartwright hit back.

Cartwright gave Australia some hope of a comeback, with fellow debutant Harry Wilson sparking more belief with his first one minute later. But the All Blacks Sevens all but sealed the title triumph when Jayden Keelan raced away for a try in the 13^th minute.

Wilson scored his second in the final play of the match, but it wasn’t to be for Australia at Dubai’s The Sevens Stadium. In an inexperienced squad that included a host of players with less than 10 tournament caps, Australia fell painfully short of glory.

“The confidence is definitely there. We played some hard teams and we know that we can beat them,” he added.

“We didn’t play Fiji in Dubai but we played them in NZ and we got up on them. I think the confidence is there.

“If anything, we had a pretty stern talking to from Hutch on the field afterwards, watching NZ hold that trophy up where we definitely should’ve been holding it. He was just basically saying, ‘we’re sick of being in this position watching that, and we’re too good to be staying in that second position.’

“The hunger’s there straight away afterwards. The boys got on the flight, pretty much just want to get into training and work for this weekend. I think everyone, now that we’ve gone that close, and obviously there’s so many boys in here that haven’t won one, the hunger is there to really do it.”

Australia have a chance to go one better in the second stop of the season, with Cape Town’s DHL Stadium hosting the annual event on December 6-7. They are in Pool B with Argentina, Spain, and Dubai Sevens semi-final rivals France.