Australian Sevens coaches Andy Friend and Tim Walsh have named new-look men’s and women’s squads for the Oceania Sevens Championship to be played in Fiji this weekend.

Walsh has chosen a mix of youth and Gold medal experience for the tournament, while Friend is throwing open opportunities for young players to vie for selection in his final 2016/17 squad.

Friend has named a squad that includes a raft of young up and coming talent with only two players older than 22 years of age making the trip across the Pacific.

With one eye on re-building the Aussie 7s men’s team in the post 2016 Rio Olympic Games era, Friend has urged his young charges to take their opportunities.

The women’s team will give young squad members Georgie Friedrichs, Emma Sykes, Hannah Southwell and the recently signed Shanice Parker the chance to mix with Australia’s Olympic heroes when the tournament kicks off next Friday.

With less than a month until the opening round of the World Rugby Sevens Series gets underway on December 1, Walsh wants his charges to continue their progression following on from their victory at the Central Coast Sevens in October.

“We have had a great preparation period leading into this tournament and we are looking forward to continuing to build momentum towards Dubai,” Walsh said.

“We know that this tournament is going to be incredibly tough and we will need to adapt to the challenges that come our way.

“For our young players such as Georgie, Emma, Hannah and Shanice, this tournament is only going to add to their growing experience at International level and hold them in good stead moving forward.”

Friend admitted the tournament was a changing of the guard for the men’s team.

“For a coach it’s an exciting period as we move to create the building blocks for a strong team for the future,” he said.

“We have seen players really stand up and be counted at training but now is the time for that to translate to the field and we are looking forward to what the Oceania Rugby Sevens Championship has to throw at us.”

The Oceania Rugby Sevens Championship kicks off on Friday 11 November in Suva, Fiji.

Australian Men’s Squad:
John Porch, Sam Croke, Bennett Leslie, Conor Mitchell, Tom Connor, Liam McNamara, Josh Coward, Mick Adams, Charlie Taylor, Alex Gibbon, Simon Kennewell, Sam Caslick.

Australian Women’s Squad:
Shannon Parry, Sharni Williams, Tiana Penitani, Mahalia Murphy, Emma Tonegato, Emma Sykes, Hannah Southwell, Shanice Parker, Brooke Anderson, Alicia Quirk, Georgie Friedrichs, Dom Du Toit.