Victoria Grant, the New Zealand U18 girls sevens coach, and her squad will travel to Sydney this weekend for the inaugural Oceania Rugby U18 Sevens Championship.

The tournament will determine which teams will be eligible to represent Oceania at the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Argentina later this year with each nation able to select one team sport for both boys and girls according to the International Olympic Committee rules. 

New Zealand’s squad for the tournament includes two members of the Black Ferns Sevens squad in Risaleaana Pouri-Lane and Jazmin Hotham, which Grant said will greatly boost the team.

“Risi and Jazmin train alongside some of the best players in the game in the Black Ferns Sevens environment, and they will add great experience to our group. The squad has prepared really well for the step up in intensity we expect in Sydney, and we can’t wait to kick-off our campaign”, said Grant.

New Zealand will take on Fiji and Australia, the winners of the gold medal on rugby sevens’ debut at the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing in 2014. Six teams will contest the boys' competition that runs alongside the girls' event.

Grant, a former Black Ferns Sevens and 15s player herself, returns to her U18 coaching role having participated in the Women’s Coaching Internship Programme (WCIP) at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games last week.

The programme, a brand-new initiative aimed at building women’s coaching capacity through mentoring, learning and on-the-ground training, saw a total of 19 female coaches from 11 countries across 12 sports involved at the Commonwealth Games. 

Invaluable experience

New Zealand won the inaugural women’s rugby sevens gold medal on the Commonwealth Games stage after an incredible final with Australia and Grant (pictured below, back left) was fully integrated into the management team throughout the competition.

She was involved in the coaches’ meetings, training sessions and video analysis and mentored by Black Ferns Sevens assistant coach Stu Ross, all the while gaining invaluable experience to help the two-time Women’s Rugby World Cup winners’ development as a coach.

“Mentoring has great value. Having someone to discuss with, learn from, support and challenge you is invaluable. Being immersed in our national team at a pinnacle event is a great experience and will help me in future endeavours,” said Grant.

World Rugby’s General Manager for Women's Rugby Katie Sadleir added: “We are delighted that Victoria Grant participated in the Commonwealth Games’ Women’s Coaching Internship Programme on the Gold Coast. The programme reflects Word Rugby’s Women’s Plan which aims to accelerate the development women in rugby both on and off the field and promote gender equality in our sport.

“The international experience Victoria has gained at this major event will assist her development and growth as a coach heading into this weekend’s Oceania Rugby U18 Sevens Championship and beyond. World Rugby hopes that more members of the rugby family will have the same opportunity to take part in the future to grow female coaches in the game.”

World Rugby’s ground-breaking Women’s Plan 2017-25 unpins a commitment to be a global leader in sport, where women have equal opportunities in all areas, are integrated in strategy, plans and structures and make highly valued contributions to participation, performance, leadership and investment in the global game.