The Qantas Australian Men’s Sevens team for the Oceania Sevens Championship has been named as Australia chases qualification for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Qantas Wallaby Jack Maddocks will earn his first Australian Sevens cap having joined the Australian program after his commitments with the Qantas Wallabies concluded.
Brumbies Forward, Tom Cusack will also earn his first Sevens cap since 2016 with Josh Turner from Manly also in line to make his Australian debut.
The Oceania Sevens Championship draw will be split by teams who have qualified for the Games (Fiji and New Zealand) with the sides looking to use the regional qualifier to book their place at one of the World’s biggest sporting events in Tokyo next year.
The Aussie Men will meet Vanuatu, Nauru, American Samoa and Tonga in Pool C with their main rivals shaping up to be Samoa and Tonga who also share the same Olympic qualification path as Australia.
Qantas Australian Men’s Sevens Head Coach, Tim Walsh said: “The team has had a really good pre-season and we have prepared really well for the Oceania Sevens.
“Every team competing is aiming to join the Olympic Games and we expect Tonga and Samoa to be the biggest barriers for us achieving that goal.
“Jack (Maddocks) has worked really well with the squad and progressed well in Sevens and we’re looking forward to seeing him in action.”
Qantas Australian Men's Sevens side for Olympic Qualifier
1.Nick Malouf, University of Queensland, 35 caps
2. Lachlan Anderson, Eastwood, 22 caps
3. Joe Pincus, Easts (Sydney), 6 caps
4. Tom Cusack, Royals, Brumbies ,10 caps
5. Simon Kennewell, Randwick, 19 caps
6. Maurice Longbottom, Lloyd McDermott Rugby Development Team, 15 caps
7. Josh Coward, 5 caps, Souths (Melbourne)
8. Josh Turner*, Manly
9. Lewis Holland (c), Queanbeyan, 47 caps
10. Ben O’Donnell, Randwick 18 caps
11. Jack Maddocks**, Easts, Melbourne Rebels
12. Henry Hutchison, Randwick, 26 caps
13th Jesse Parahi, 44 caps
*Denotes Uncapped
**Uncapped for Australian Sevens, seven Test caps for Wallabies
