Worthing's Amy named in GB Olympic squad

Worthing's Amy Wilson-Hardy has been named in the Great Britain women's sevens squad for the Olympics in Rio.
Amy Wilson HardyAmy Wilson Hardy
Amy Wilson Hardy

The 24-year-old, who now plays for Bristol, began her rugby career at Worthing and signed a professional deal with the England sevens squad in 2014.

It will be the first time in 108 years that Team GB has had representation in rugby at Olympic level and a first for the seven-a-side format.

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Competition takes place over six days with the women competing first from August 6-8 at the Deodoro Stadium in a pool which includes hosts Brazil, Japan and Canada.

The men’s competition follows from August 9-11 with Kenya, Japan and New Zealand waiting in the pool stages for Team GB.

Emily Scarratt will captain the women’s squad which features a number of experienced names from England’s 2014 Women’s Rugby World Cup winning side and the squad who have competed in the HSBC World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series last season as professional athletes.

The women’s squad, who have been training full time as a wider GB group since October last year, have played in invitational and training tournaments around the globe this season alongside England’s exploits on the circuit, in which they won the Langford event.

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Captain Scarratt added: “To wear the GB shirt and compete in the Olympics is a childhood dream that we are now, as a team, turning into reality.

“As a squad, we are looking forward to being among the first athletes to play rugby sevens on the world’s biggest sporting stage. I am immensely proud to be representing Great Britain and introducing women’s rugby to new audiences.”

The men’s squad will be led by Tom Mitchell and names a number of experienced sevens specialists including James Rodwell, who set a new world record earlier this year after playing in 69 consecutive HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series’ tournaments, and Dan Norton, the series’ fourth-highest leading scorer of all time.

The full women’s squad is Claire Allan, Abbie Brown, Heather Fisher, Natasha Hunt, Jasmine Joyce, Katy McLean, Alice Richardson, Emily Scarratt, Emily Scott, Danielle Waterman, Joanne Watmore, Amy Wilson-Hardy.

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The full men’s squad is Mark Bennett, Dan Bibby, Phil Burgess, Sam Cross, Alex Davis, James Davies, Ollie Lindsay Hague, Tom Mitchell, Dan Norton, James Rodwell, Mark Robertson, Marcus Watson.

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