Bond University women's sevens players have moved on quickly from the disappointment of the cancellation of the AON Sevens series.
The four-leg series was officially cancelled by Rugby Australia due to COVID-19 last month.
Bond Bull Sharks representative and sport development scholarship student Caitlyn Costello believes there will be a silver lining.
“We considered the cancellation a possibility, but it was still a shock once confirmed,” Costello said.
“It’s very disappointing, for me and a lot of other girls, sevens is our main sport. It was disheartening to see the biggest competition scrapped from the calendar.
“A lot of our focus has now moved towards the 15s program.
“We are in a unique position that we are going to be the first women’s 15s team to play for Bond University.
“We don’t take that lightly. We want to do everything we can to be ready when we do get the green light.”
Costello, 24, will take the opportunity to throw herself into study, both in her Diploma of Business and Bachelor of Sport Management and also learning the finer points of the 15-a-side game.
“There are girls in our program who have never played 15s before, myself included,” she said.
“So it is going to be a big learning curve.
“The rugby IQ side of it, we’ve really taken it upon ourselves to get our heads around it during this quieter time.
“I’m excited by this opportunity, it’s great for women in rugby, and particularly our younger girls coming through the squad. We want to build a women’s program for the long haul.
“The silver lining or bonus is that I’ve been able to pick up more subjects at University.
“Without the schedule and training and travel that AON requires, I can pick-up another subject and I’m really excited about that. It’ll be a challenge off the field.”
The Bond University players have been having weekly virtual meetings as well as using numerous social networking sites to stay engaged and motivated.
“I’ve never felt this connected and it’s funny because it is all done virtually,” Costello said.
“Bond University as a club has been doing really well, I feel really engaged with our women’s program and our leadership group and the staff.
“Lots of the girls are posting their workouts and things like that.
“We are trying to maintain motivation as best we can.”