UNIVERSITY of Canberra sevens coach Liam McGrath has backed a proposal to flip the women's rugby calendar, saying it would better align the sport's two versions.
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Rugby Australia announced a review of its high-performance women's programs on Wednesday, prompted by the rescheduling of the Tokyo Olympic Games.
The postponed Games will now take place in July and August next year, just weeks prior to the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.
This year's University Sevens Series, which Cambewarra's Aroha Spillane and Ulladulla's Lily Murdoch were set to play once again for McGrath's UC side, has been cancelled - with the competition's scheduling and format to come under review for 2021 and beyond.
It's likely the sevens tournament will be contested from February to April, pushing the Super W season closer to the international window.
McGrath says flipping the competitions would allow dual-format players to play in both the Olympics and World Cup, as well as provide them a break between the two seasons.
"Women's rugby is exploding not just here but globally. We discussed how we can work more effectively with the 15-a-side game given there's a lot of crossover athletes and coaches," McGrath said.
"We were basically cramming in all high-performance rugby in a four-to-five-month window.
"So if we flip the window and have sevens, which is traditionally played in the warmer months anyway, to February and March, it gives us November and December to get them up to speed.
"It also gives them a break at the end of their club footy season, the girls would have a clear window where they can take a break and readjust.
"I think one of the big positives coming out of this is it's sort of forced Rugby Australia's hand to align the two windows to ensure we're looking after athletes first."
However, the cancellation of the sevens series means there will be no elite competition in that format this year.
Rugby Australia and participating universities are considering an alternative format for late 2020, including a decentralised, regional competition.
"At this stage there's nothing official which is really disappointing for the group, but we'll look to play them in some regional tournaments," McGrath said.
"That period will ultimately become our pre-season rather than our season."
McGrath hopes the competition will have more exposure and corporate interest following the review.
"I'd really like to not see us take a step back, I know it's not going to be the same but I'd like the same universities to return next year and support their athletes," McGrath said.
"I would also like to see a bit more exposure on television, if we were able to get one or two games over the weekend on free-to-air or Fox Sports that would be brilliant.
"With some additional corporate interest, you'd see the level of this competition explode faster than it already has."