NATURAL TALENT AT HOME IN SEVENS HEAVEN
SHE made headlines as the YouTube sensation who so impressed Aussie rugby sevens coaches with one training video that they invited her into camp to trial.
One year on from that phone call Cassie Staples is still impressing staff as she accelerates on and off the field.
Staples, 24, has been named in Australia’s squad for the Sevens World Series opener in Dubai from November 30.
Australian women’s coach Tim Walsh didn’t make it easy for Staples to muscle her way in, laying down ground rules early and setting skills to master before she would even have a shot.
What she did blew him away.
“We got her in with her coach Justin Lang and had a chat and was told a few nonnegotiables about what we’re about. She went away and a month later, she said, yep, done all that,” Walsh said.
“She came in and we did some testing. She did all that and was beating half the girls who were on full contract.
“We gave her a few more work-ons. She went away and came back again and she was taking huge steps.”
A netballer who was satisfied with what she had achieved in the premier league, Staples was drawn to rugby by the buzz of Australia’s gold medal Olympic performance in Brazil and the boom the sport received as a result.
She played for University of Canberra in this year’s University Sevens series.
Shannon Parry, Sharni Williams, Georgina Friedrichs, Dom Du Toit, Emma Tonegato, Evania Pelite, Charlotte Caslick, Mahalia Murphy, Emma Sykes, Page McGregor, Emilee Cherry, Cassie Staples.