Emma Tonegato to return for Sydney Sevens

The 23-year-old underwent a shoulder operation after July’s Rugby Sevens World Cup and was forced to miss the opening two tournaments of the World Rugby Sevens Series. 

After completing six months of rehabilitation, Tonegato is looking forward to pulling the Australian jersey on Friday. 

“I’m so excited to be back in the team this weekend,” Tonegato said.

“It’s been a long time, I’ve had six months of rehabbing, so I’m very excited to play back in Sydney. It’s awesome to be able to play in Australia in front of my friends and family.”

Australia enter the tournament as defending champions, however they have struggled in the opening two tournaments. 

The side has been drawn to face China, Spain and a rapidly developing American side in Friday’s group matches. 

The Americans currently sit third in the overall standings, one spot ahead of Australia, and Tonegato is expecting a tough encounter in the Friday night fixture. 

“They’ve got such good athletes, quite big girls who put their head down and just run. They’re hard to tackle, we have to get up on them and take away their space to run. 

“They’ll be challenging, they’ve been consistently good in every tournament. But it will be a good challenge, we’re happy we get to play them on day one and have that test.”