Dubai: Australia women’s captain Shannon Parry laid down the Olympic gauntlet to her players after their Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens victory on Friday.
The Ozzies thrashed Russia 31-12 in the final of the opening round of the four-stage HSBC Women’s Sevens World Series, which this year acts as preparation for next summer’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Parry said Australia’s winning start to the season would give them confidence for 2016, but warned such form would need to be maintained if they were to realise their dreams of Olympic gold.
“To start off with a win here is sensational. Everyone stepped up and you cannot ask for more than that,” she said. “But it is a very long series and then there is Rio.
“Everyone is chasing an Olympic medal there and we are not afraid to say it. We are going there for gold.
“We are not just going there as competitors, we are going there to win. That is on our radar and our big target.
“We have put in a lot of hard work in Australia since June and it is great to get the reward. It is topped off by doing it in front of an amazing crowd in Dubai — it is sensational and I’m very proud of my girls.”
Australia beat Spain 26-7, Japan 43-0 and England 24-7 to top Pool C, then edged New Zealand 15-12 and France 26-0 in the quarter and semi-finals.
The women’s series now heads to Sao Paulo, Brazil in February and Georgia, USA and Vancouver, Canada in April, before a long wait for August’s Olympics, for which they have already qualified after finishing third in last year’s World Series.