Australia’s Rugby Sevens queen Charlotte Caslick admits while she harbours the desire to win another Olympic gold medal, there is no guarantee she will feature in the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
But for now, she is not thinking too far ahead. Rather, she is determined to ensure her transition to the 15-woman code is a success, a phase which will have its next chapter inscribed on Friday night.
Caslick will line up for the Wallaroos at Suncorp Stadium for the first time against world No.2 Canada, hopeful her try-scoring feats in last week’s triumph of the USA were no flash in the pan.
Charlotte Caslick of the Wallaroos runs the ball during the Pacific Four Series International Match between Australia Wallaroos and USA.Credit: Getty Images
But beyond this year’s World Cup in England, she tells this masthead she has not locked in how far her career will extend, despite her hopes of reaching LA and the 2029 Rugby World Cup in Australia – by which time, she will be 34.
“I’m focusing on getting myself on the plane for the World Cup … but I will return to Sevens,” Caslick says, with the world tour not beginning again until December.
“I’m looking forward to focusing on the World Cup this year, but I’m getting old now so there are other things I want to focus on in my life as well. If I could play at LA and in the home World Cup, that would be amazing, but it’s a pretty long way away.
“I’d love to start a family, I’ve been with my partner for a long time, and he sacrifices a lot for me to continue to play rugby. We have a cattle farm as well that we run, which he obviously does most of the heavy lifting for.
“But I want to play rugby for as long as I possibly can, as long as my body allows me to. It’s the best job in the world, but also as female athletes, you have to think about other aspects of your life too.”
Having achieved so much – a Rio de Janeiro Olympics gold medal en route to becoming the sport’s most-capped player, and an NRLW stint with the Sydney Roosters – a World Cup campaign is the last major scalp on Caslick’s radar.
To achieve that, the nation’s leading talent need more game time.
While England has featured in eight of nine World Cup finals on the back of their annual 18-round domestic competition and Six Nations, Australia’s Super Rugby Women’s format includes five rounds before finals.
“There are players in that squad who have played more Tests for England personally than Australia as a nation have played in total,” Caslick says.
“They’re playing a lot more footy than the girls get to play in Australia, which is something we’re obviously hoping and working towards changing.”
Caslick was joined by fellow Sevens stars such as Maddison and Teagan Levi and Bella Nasser at the Queensland Reds in an attempt to crack the World Cup squad and expose themselves to more playing opportunities.
The Brisbane product believes if the Wallaroos were to make the same mark as the Matildas did in the 2023 FIFA World Cup, the amalgamation of the two programs needed to continue.
“We don’t know the World Series program moving forward for next season, there’s been some changes in that space. But I think as much as we can get both programs working on the same page the better,” Caslick says.
“Having a home World Cup in ’29, for Australian rugby that should be a huge priority. Everyone saw the effect the Matildas had not just on women’s soccer in Australia, but women’s sport.”
Charlotte Caslick
“I think being able to capitalise on that moment of having a home World Cup is going to be huge for women’s rugby in Australia, and hopefully both programs understand and kind of shape Australian rugby in that way and work together to get the best results.”
Caslick will get her first taste at inside centre alongside fellow Wests Bulldog Georgina Friedrichs, who was on the receiving end of a “savage” headstomp by America rival Alev Kelter.
Kelter received a three-match suspension, which led Wallaroos coach Jo Yapp to express her surprise a longer ban was not issued, while confirming Friedrichs was fine and “lucky to not have a more serious injury”.
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