Corey Toole and Mark Nawaqanitase aim for Olympic glory in Rugby Sevens

Corey Toole will make a late bid to be included in the Australian Sevens team for the Paris Olympics along with fellow winger Mark Nawaqanitawase, Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt said on Friday.

The fleet-footed Toole, a standout player for Australia in the World Sevens Series in 2021 and 2022, was listed as “Australian Sevens” in the press release announcing the Wallabies side would play Wales and Georgia on Friday. “It’s a huge highlight for Rugby Australia,” Schmidt later told reporters in Sydney.

“I had a conversation with Corey and Corey was happy to prioritize the Olympics in the short term. And then I think Corey will be a real asset to us if he is selected further.” Nawaqanitawase, who will be part of rugby league’s Sydney Roosters next season, was also left out of the Wallabies squad despite being one of the team’s best players last year.

The 23-year-old, who played Sevens with Toole for Australia at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, has already started training with coach John Manenti’s squad ahead of a series of warm-up matches against Olympic champions Fiji. “Mark could well follow that path in the short term and I think he would be a real asset to the Sevens,” Schmidt added.

“At the same time, there are some really good Sevens players who have played the whole series. So that’s the conundrum that John and his management have to work through.” Manenti, who also has Wallabies great Michael Hooper bidding for a place in his squad for Paris, said earlier this week that Nawaqanitasawase had plenty to offer in Sevens.

“It’s a quick learning curve and we’re doing things differently. He’s had some pretty tough training days and he certainly seems invested to me,” Manenti told Rugby.com.au on Tuesday. “He’s probably the biggest body we have and he can move too. He’s got some great qualities that are useful in Sevens.”

Australia, who finished eighth and seventh in the two previous Olympic tournaments, are hopeful of reaching the medal rounds for the first time in Paris after finishing fourth in the World Sevens Series standings this year.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)