Sophie Duff is the role model for what’s possible through Rio Tinto’s partnership with the Queensland Rugby Union to uncover elite teen talent for women’s rugby.
The third of the Rio Tinto Elite Girls Rugby Talent Combines hits Marley Brown Oval in Gladstone from 11am on Sunday.
The ambition is a huge positive for the game…identify future Queensland and Australian representatives by enhancing the pathways for elite teenage girls aged 15-to-17.
The talent combines are the lift-off stage where anyone with athletic gifts or eagerness for a cross-code switch can have a crack at rugby.
Athletes will be tracked and recorded over a 40m sprint, a 1.2km time trial and a countermovement jump plus rugby-specific drills like catch-and-pass and tackling.
It will all sound familiar to Duff, a Gladstone local whose opportunities in rugby sevens have taken off since she took the punt at a 2019 Talent Combine.
“Coming from Gladstone myself, I know opportunities are a bit limited in a country town,” Duff, 21, said.
“When an opportunity like this arises it’s best to always say ‘yes’ to anything and have a go.
“There’s no pressure to be amazing. It’s about having a go.
“Rio Tinto supporting girls, especially with a regional pathway, is really important in providing opportunities.
“It all started for me at a Combine in 2019. The Queensland Reds Sevens and Queensland Academy of Sport programs have given me the opportunity to play overseas in New Zealand, Fiji France and Dubai.
“I never thought that could happen.”
Noosaville’s Meg Gemmell crossed from athletics to forge ahead in rugby sevens after taking a chance in the regions.
“Personally, I came from a track background and skills transferred across to rugby. These Combines are open to girls with all athletic abilities. It’s a great chance to be scouted,” Gemmell said.
Duff is returning from Brisbane to Gladstone to help run Sunday’s camp with Reds sevens teammate Gemmell plus Reds Super Rugby Women’s players Caitlin Urwin and Brianna Dascombe.
The Talent Combine will be overseen by Lachlan Parkinson, the National Talent Development Manager for Sevens, Mari Belessis, a Reds Sevens Elite Squad coach, and Nico Andrade, the QRU Women’s High-Performance Manager.
The goals are tantalising. The 2032 Brisbane Olympics is looming bigger on the bucket list of ambitious rugby sevens players while transitions to the 15-a-side game are also exciting with Australia hosting the 2029 Rugby World Cup for women.
Rio Tinto and the QRU have been partners for more than a decade.
In 2023, Rio Tinto stepped up its commitment to the Reds’ Buildcorp Super Rugby Women’s team.
Initiatives have included two series of Under The Surface, a docuseries championing the women’s game.
The Rio Tinto logo is proudly displayed on the front of the Reds’ Super Rugby Women’s and men’s Super Rugby Pacific playing shorts.
