The side were one of the revelations of the 2016 Olympic Games, defeating New Zealand in the Final to claim gold, in the inaugural edition of the seven-a-side format at the Games.

When do Australia's Women Sevens Side Play?

The Women's Sevens side have been drawn in Pool C and will kick off their tournament against host nation Japan on Thursday, July 29 at 11:30 am (AEST).

This will be followed in the evening by a clash with China, slated for 6:30 pm (AEST).

Their group stage matches will be rounded out against the USA on Friday, July 30 at 11:30 am.

The Format

If they manage to finish in the top two or as one of the two highest-ranked third-place finishes, they will qualify for the quarter-finals.

A first-place group finish would likely set up a clash with Great Britain or Kenya whilst finishing second would likely mean a date with Canada or Fiji.

Meanwhile, finishing third would mean they would face the winners of Pool A or B, likely New Zealand or Fiji/Canada.

Australia Women's Sevens Squad Preview

The Co-Captains

Shannon Parry and Sharni Williams will both lead from the front as they attempt to guide Australia to back-to-back gold medals.

The pair have been a mainstay of Australian Rugby for over a decade and seem to rise to the big occasions, having played at World Cups across both formats of the game.

If Australia wants to repeat the effort, it'll be crucial Parry and Williams can guide a relatively inexperienced side around the park and combat the pressures that comes with being defending Olympic champions.

The X-Factor

Charlotte Caslick will once again be integral to their chances as the 26-year-old continues to go from strength to strength.

The Young Guns

There will be three out of the 13-women squad that will make their debut in the Sevens format at the Games, however, each come with major hype surrounding their ability.

The list is headlined by Maddison Levi, with the cross-code superstar putting her AFLW dreams on hold to chase gold across the Olympics, Commonwealth Games and Sevens World Cup.

She is joined as debutants by fellow 19-year-old and star of the future Tia Hinds and Alysia Lefau-Fakaosilea, who was added as the 13th player.

The Opponents

Japan

• Tokyo seeding: 10th
• Last time we played: Australia 27-0 Japan (2017, Dubai)
• Japan enter the tournament eager to impress in their home Olympics.
• Australia will be looking to continue their recent dominance over the Sakura Sevens, having not conceded a point in their last three meetings.
• Young gun Rinka Matsuda will be looking to breakout as the 19-year-old bursts onto the Olympic scene.

China

• Tokyo seeding: 9th
• Last time we played: Australia 47-0 China
• In their first Olympics, China will be looking to put on a show as they continue their development towards being a core side on the Sevens circuit.
• Coached by Sean Horan, who led New Zealand to silver, they qualified through the Asian Qualifying Tournament, conceding just two tries whilst scoring over 200 tries in just five games.Chen Keyi looms as the main threat, having scored nine of those tries during the Qualifying tournament

 USA

• Tokyo seeding: Fourth
• Last time we played: Australia 19-14 USA (Hamilton 2020)
• Australia resumes hostilities with the USA as the two nations look likely to battle it out for top spot in the group.
• The gold-medallists claimed top in 2016, however, the US will maintain bragging rights since they were the only team they didn't manage to defeat, holding them to a 12-all draw.
• Co-captains Abby Gustaitis and Kris Thomas will be looking to make a statement as they attempt to build off their World Series win at Glendale over 12 months ago.
• No matter the code, Caslick torches defenders with ball in hand and looms as the key playmaker for this side.
• With regular partner in crime Ellia Green narrowly missing out on selection, it'll be up to Caslick to help spark this side and galvanise the younger players coming through the side.

Harrison Wakeling