A 12-woman team has been named in the PNG Palais 7s team following selection trials at the Bava Park on Saturday.
The final team will now prepare for the HSBC Sydney sevens tournament in Australia from the 26th to the 28th of January.
Palais Team for Sydney Sevens
- Isi Kovea
- Marie Biyama
- Debbie Kaore
- Taiva Lavai
- Mavis Mitaharo
- Joanne Lagona
- Lynette Kwarula
- Fatime Rama
- Geua Larry
- Chelsea Garesa
- Freda Waula
- Gemma Schnaubelt
A 22-woman train on squad braved the heat at the Bava Park to try out for a spot in the Palais team to feature at the HSBC Sydney Sevens at the end of the month.
Head coach John Larry is optimistic that the Palais can pull off a good performance given their impressive stint at the recent Oceania 7s in Fiji.
A blend of experience and youth is what is expected to deliver for the PNG women’s sevens team and they know the Sydney sevens will be as challenging as ever.
Joanne Lagona has been named alongside Debbie Kaore, with the only new inclusion from Brisbane being the young 20-year-old Gemma Schnaubelt, who joined the squad yesterday and proved to be a worthy player.
Despite playing touch on a regular basis and 7s, just as an off season sport, Schnaubelt says it’s good experience although she still prefers touch footy!
The PNG women's team qualified for the Sydney, Hong Kong tours of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series, and the Sevens World Cup all on merit.
(Palais trials yesterday)