Australia's Rugby Sevens squads to move to Brisbane ahead of 2032 Games

SYDNEY, Aug 20 - Australia's Rugby Sevens programmes will move to a new state-of-the-art training facility at Brisbane's Ballymore Stadium complex ahead of the 2032 Olympics in the city, the Queensland government said on Thursday.

The "Teams in Gold Facility" will be built as part of the redevelopment of Ballymore, which is the traditional home of rugby union in the state and once hosted World Cup, test and top provincial matches.

The Sevens teams will move from New South Wales once the project is completed, along with the women's national 15-a-side team, the Wallaroos. The centre will also host the Wallabies men's test team when they are in Queensland.

"Queensland is the new home of Rugby Sevens and the Wallaroos because organisations want to be part of what we are building here in Queensland," state Premier David Crisafulli said in a news release.

"Having national teams based in Queensland at Ballymore only grows the game and encourages more kids to dream of pulling on the green and gold one day."

Australia won the inaugural women's gold medal in Rugby Sevens at the 2016 Rio Olympics and finished fourth in Paris in 2024, a feat matched by the men's team.

As well as the training facility, Ballymore Stadium will be upgraded to an 8,000-capacity, multipurpose venue.

"This is an historic moment for Australian Rugby and the benefits from today's announcement will be felt for generations," said Rugby Australia chief Phil Waugh.

"The major upgrade of Ballymore will ensure the game's spiritual home in Queensland will evolve into a high-performance centre of excellence to rival any around the rugby world." REUTERS