Charlotte Caslick hoping to defy the odds to realise Rugby World Cup dream

Australia Broadcast Center

4 days ago

The timeline is tight. Very tight.
Wallaroos and Australian rugby sevens star Charlotte Caslick had ankle surgery three weeks ago.
It's an injury which usually takes 10-12 weeks to heal, and she's aiming to come back in less than seven.
She's at Rugby Australia headquarters every single day, working with medical staff, desperately throwing everything at her attempt to add another achievement to an already all-time great career.
"It's going good at the moment, as well as it can be," she told ABC Sport.
"I'm still in a moon boot and hoping to get out of that in a few days and then running by next week. So at this stage it's progressing on target."
Caslick made the switch from sevens to XVs earlier this year, and earned her Wallaroos debut in May, quickly proving her star power transcends any format.
She was named in the Wallaroos' World Cup squad on Monday, and while the Australians' first group game against Samoa on August 23 is too soon, the second game against the USA a week later is the goal.
"I think having a positive mindset is definitely going to be crucial (as to whether) I get there or not," she said.
"There are some days where I'm a little bit sad but I'm trying to maintain a good headspace."
The 30-year-old has won everything in sevens — Olympics, Commonwealth Games and World Cup gold, multiple World Series titles, and has even had a stint in the NRLW.
This is an item on a long bucket list she's determined to tick off.
"Getting to the Rugby World Cup was what I set out to achieve and it's been a goal of mine for a long time," she said.
"I'm really proud of myself for taking the jump across and challenging myself, getting out of my comfort zone and putting myself out there in a different way.
"And I think the response I've had from fans in the game and the Wallaroos girls has been amazing too."
Wallaroos captain Siokapesi Palu is also hoping to make a speedy recovery from a foot injury she sustained in the same game as Caslick.
"I'm confident in the team that they've got to look after me," she told ABC Sport.
"I've had to relocate from home in Canberra to here in Sydney ... to get one on one support Monday to Friday. I'm doing everything I can to make sure I'm ready."
Palu took over the captaincy last year and is consistently amongst the team's best players.
Alongside Caslick, her inclusion would play a big part in the Wallaroos' success at the tournament.
"It's a different feeling this time. The first time I went I didn't play a single game at all, just due to selections," she said.
"And that was a turning point for rugby for me in terms of resilience, diligence and just trying to learn more about myself and what I'm capable of."
Born in New Zealand, Palu has Samoan and Tongan heritage, and embraces the idea of a village, which is important in Pasifika culture.
"Village starts to become more like your people and it changes all the time, depending on what season you are in life," she said.
"And in this season of life, the Wallaroos we've been together so many times, I think I've been with them more than I am with my actual blood family. They are my village."
Palu's own family hasn't always been on board with her rugby journey, with her dad concerned over whether she had a future in the sport.
Earlier this year she told ABC's Nesia Daily her dad's initial reaction to her playing rugby was that it was a "waste of time", because the pathways and opportunities for female players didn't exist.
As her career has progressed, so has her family's attitudes as she's challenged cultural ideas around traditional gender roles.
"They've been super supportive, my parents come to pretty much every single game of mine from Super W to club and now here with the Wallaroos.
"And I think what they enjoy is that the game changes you as a person. And I think leadership has changed who I am as well."
Palu's personal growth is reflected in the team's journey.
England's Jo Yapp was appointed the team's first full-time coach at the end of 2023, and will leave at the end of the World Cup.
There has been increased investment in the women's XVs program, although they are still semi-professional, and well behind the likes of England, New Zealand, and Canada.
Currently ranked eighth in the world, and in a group with Samoa, the USA, and world number one and hosts England, the expectations for this World Cup are tempered, but the longer term vision burns bright.
"I am not here just to try and bridge gap (with the top nations), just to be on par. I want us to sit up there," Palu said.
Caslick has seen the difference first hand, having experienced most of her career in the fully professional sevens environment.
"I hope that one day they could also be full-time and not have the burden of having to focus on so many other things of their lives," she said.
"I do find that's really inspiring and the discipline that they have to keep showing up every single day just purely because they love rugby and they love representing Australia."
With Australia hosting the next World Cup in 2029, Caslick senses an opportunity.
"I hope that the sevens and fifteens programmes can co-exist a little bit and we can see more crossover between not just the sevens girls coming to Wallaroos, but Wallaroos coming to the sevens program.
"I have shown that it's possible to do both. The depth within Australian rugby for women is really, really strong and we could just utilise it in both programs better."