Hong Kong Sevens 2023: hosts’ women’s rugby team can inspire generation as they take on world
- ‘When you see women playing sport at a high level … you think, I could do that,’ Hong Kong co-captain Natasha Olson-Thorne says
- Teammate Rosie Wright adds: ‘When I was around mini-rugby age, it wasn’t even considered possible that women would be out there at Hong Kong Stadium’
Hong Kong co-captain Natasha Olson-Thorne has considered it from both sides of the touchline and said the impact on girls from watching the world’s best women taking centre stage should not be underestimated.
“When you see women playing sport at a high level and see that as an option, you think, ‘I could do that, I could be there on that stage,’” she said. “When I was growing up, I didn’t have that.
“Now, it’s on TV, you’ve got the [HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series], the World Cup. It’s about trying to inspire new generations and hope they’ll pick up a ball and play.”
Hong Kong is staging a leg of the women’s Series for the first time, giving its women a place in the tournament as hosts. They have drawn six-time Series champions New Zealand first on Friday in pool A, which also includes Canada and Great Britain. It will be a baptism of fire, but squad member Rosie Wright wants nothing less.
