Sevens star passes on the baton
RUGBY SEVENS: With the amount of Darling Downs talent in the Australian Women’s Rugby Sevens team at the moment the ARU might as well build its headquarters in Toowoomba.
For Emilee Cherry, Dominique du Toit, Georgie Freidrichs and Demi Hayes the training session at Fairholme College yesterday afternoon was a homecoming of sorts.
The quartet spent the past 12 months jetting around the world, winning Olympic medals and the adoration of the Australian people in the process.
But for former Fairholme College student du Toit, running out alongside the likes of Cherry represents a passing of the baton.
The 20-year-old was a travelling reserve at the Rio Olympics when Cherry won gold in Brazil, but du Toit is now taking her game to the next level.
“I really looked up to her (Cherry) when she started playing rugby because I had never heard of it.
“She inspired me and to play alongside her was very special - she is still my role model.”
Cherry has taken on the role of mentor to her younger teammates du Toit, Freidrichs and Hayes, expecting them to surpass her achievement in the years to come and inspire even more from the region to pick up a ball.
“They got the jump on us because they started the sport five or six years before we even knew about it,” she said.
Roma-born Cherry is taking the Australian squad back to her home town for a night camped out under the stars on her family property today, giving the city-slickers in the roster a taste of her humble beginnings.
“Most of the girls don’t even know what swags are,” she said.