Orange product Grace Hamilton has given herself every chance to be named in the Australian squad for the Four Nations in June, which is set to be announced on Thursday, after dominating in Sydney’s Buildcorp National Women's XV Championship win last weekend.
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The former Kinross Wolaroi student was superb in Sydney’s back-row as her side blazed to its third straight national title, putting her firmly in the frame for the Four Nations, a groundbreaking tournament which will act as the perfect preparation for the Wallaroos before they head to Ireland for this year’s Rugby World Cup.
The 26-year-old, whose brother Harry plays for Orange Emus, was the Sydney-siders’ best as they destroyed South Australia Barbarians 39-0 and Australian Defence Force 68-0 on day one as well.
“We always have a bit of a target on our back, but there [was] a lot of new faces and we [were] just trying to come together and string some good performances (early in the tournament),” Hamilton said.
The now three-time consecutive champions scored a hard-fought 13-0 win over Western Australia on day two, before running away with Sunday’s decider against ACT, ultimately winning 34-0.
Hamilton debuted for Australia last year during the Wallaroos’ tour of New Zealand but she knows she has plenty of stiff competition, particularly in the back row.
As a result, she said she’s hopeful, rather than expectant, of earning another Wallaroos jersey.
Her performance last weekend earned her plenty of praise though, Sydney skipper Ash Hewson, who also captains the Wallaroos, highlighted Hamilton as one of the side’s best.
“I thought Grace Hamilton and Kayla Sauvao were very impressive over the weekend,” she said.
“To be honest with you, everyone in our squad stood up and showed great resolve and that’s why we took it away.
“We knew we had the squad to do it and everyone is really stoked… thankfully everyone pulled up okay.
“There will be plenty of tough decisions for the (Australian) coaches due to some great depth.”
Matt Findlay
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
