Aussie co-captains back on rugby 7s women's squad for Tokyo

SYDNEY (AP) — Co-captains Shannon Parry and Sharni Williams are among five players returning to the defending champion Australia women’s rugby sevens side for the Tokyo Olympics.

The Australian Olympic Committee said on Saturday that Emma Tonegato, Evania Pelite and Charlotte Caslick would also return for their second games.

The team beat New Zealand in the final at the Rio de Janeiro Games in 2016. It was the sport's Olympic debut.

On the men’s squad, captain Nick Malouf and Henry Hutchison return for their second Olympics. It also includes 33-test and ex-World Cup Wallaby Samu Kerevi, who has moved from the 15-a-side version of the game.

The men’s team will play against New Zealand, Argentina and South Korea in its pool, while the Australian women have been drawn against the United States China and hosts Japan. Fiji is the men’s defending champion.

The men’s rugby sevens will be held from July 26-28 and the women’s from July 29-31, both at Tokyo Stadium.

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Australia squads:

Men: Nick Malouf (captain), Lachlan Anderson, Joe Pincus, Dylan Pietsch, Henry Paterson, Maurice Longbottom, Joshua Coward, Joshua Turner, Lachlan Miller, Samu Kerevi, Dietrich Roache, Henry Hutchison.

Women: Shannon Parry (co-captain), Sharni Williams (co-captain), Faith Nathan, Dominique Du Toit, Emma Tonegato, Evania Pelite, Charlotte Caslick, Madison Ashby, Tia Hinds, Sariah Paki, Demi Hayes, Maddison Levi.

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