Australian rugby taking ‘enormous steps’ into the future

On and off the field, Australian rugby is breaking new ground.

Last year, Raelene Castle became the first woman to head up any rugby organization when she was unveiled as the new CEO of Rugby Australia.

Shortly afterward, Australia’s male and female sevens players were granted pay parity on what was declared a “great day for women’s sport.”

And then, in January, Australia’s women made history in Sydney by becoming the first team to win a Sevens World Series event without conceding a single point.

For Castle, the women’s success on the field helped pave the way for the advances made off it, most notably in pay parity.

Ireland players celebrate an unbeaten Six Nations campaign after defeating England 15-24 at Twickenham.

It was Ireland's third ever Grand Slam and first since 2009.

There were wild scenes back home in Dublin where Irish fans celebrated St. Patrick's Day in style.

Jacob Stockdale scored against England on the stroke of halftime. His seven tries for the tournament is a Six Nations record.

The hosts leave the field dejected. It was the third defeat in a row for Eddie Jones' side, which slipped to fifth -- its lowest placing in the competition since 1983.

Wales edged past France 14-13 in Cardiff, where wing Liam Williams got on the scoresheet in the opening minutes for the hosts.

The result meant France finished fourth with two wins and three defeats.

A late penalty from Greig Laidlaw ensured Scotland finished its campaign on a high, defeating Italy 27-29 in Rome.

Stuart Hogg put the visitors ahead late in the game, but it required Laidlaw's boot in the dying moments to secure the win.

For Italian captain Sergio Parisse (left), the defeat meant he became the first person ever to lose 100 test matches. His side failed to pick up a win in the Six Nations for the third season in a row.

Round 4: Ireland vs. Scotland —

Ireland wrapped up the 2018 Six Nations with a game to spare after defeating Scotland 28-8 in Dublin.

Round 4: Ireland vs. Scotland —

An Irish fan is in full voice as she celebrates her team's first title since 2015 and the prospect of a first grand slam since 2009.

Round 4: Ireland vs. Scotland —

Scotland, suffering a first defeat in three games, got its sole try through wing Blair Kinghorn.

Round 4: France vs. England —

For England, things went from bad to worse. The pre-tournament favorite suffered a second loss of the campaign, going down 19-16 to France in Paris.

Round 4: France vs. England —

A late surge from the visitors was repelled by Les Bleus, who celebrated their second victory of this year's tournament.

Round 4: France vs. England —

England lock Courtney Lawes loses grip of a line out at the Stade de France.

Round 4: France vs. England —

Center Mathieu Bastareaud salutes the crowd. France has won both its games since his return to the side.

Round 4: Wales vs. Italy —

Wales swept to a convincing 38-14 win over Italy at the Principality Stadium, where Leigh Halfpenny is seen making a break.

Round 4: Wales vs. Italy —

George North made his first start of the campaign, bagging two of his side's five tries.

Round 4: Wales vs. Italy —

Italy's search for a Six Nations win goes on. The Azzurri did muster two scores in Cardiff through Matteo Minozzi and Mattia Bellini.

Round 3: Scotland vs. England —

Scotland's flanker John Barclay kisses the Calcutta Cup after his side's 25-13 victory over England at Murrayfield, Edinburgh. It was the first time Scotland has beaten its oldest rival in ten years.

Round 3: Scotland vs. England —

Center Huw Jones bagged a brace. The second was his tenth in 14 internationals.

Round 3: Scotland vs. England —

For England, it was its second defeat under coach Eddie Jones in 26 games, the first coming against Ireland in last year's Six Nations.

Round 3: Ireland vs. Wales —

A thrilling encounter at Dublin's Aviva Stadium saw Ireland beat Wales 37-27. Winger Jacob Stockdale intercepted a Welsh pass to score the decisive try -- his second of the game -- in the closing stages.

Round 3: Ireland vs. Wales —

Wales ensured the result went down to the wire with a couple of second-half tries. Steff Evans scored in the 77th minute to put late pressure on Ireland.

Round 3: Ireland vs. Wales —

Keith Earls tries to escape the clutches of Welsh flanker Josh Navidi.

Round 3: Ireland vs. Wales —

Victory means Ireland is the only side at this stage to maintain its 100% record in this year's Six Nations.

Round 3: France vs. Italy —

France, meanwhile, notched its first victory of the campaign by defeating Italy 34-17. Hugo Bonneval crossed in the second half to seal the win.

Round 3: France vs. Italy —

The loss was Italy's 15th consecutive Six Nations defeat across three seasons. Coach Conor O'Shea is yet to pick up a win in the tournament.

Round 3: France vs. Italy —

The match was played at the Stade Velodrome in Marseille -- the first time ever France has hosted a Six Nations game away from Paris.

Round 2: England vs. Wales —

England's Owen Farrell celebrates his side's 12-6 victory over Wales during the second weekend of the Six Nations.

Round 2: England vs. Wales —

The home side raced into an early lead at Twickenham courtesy of two Jonny May tries. But controversy soon followed...

Round 2: England vs. Wales —

After Anthony Watson (C) and Gareth Anscombe (R) dived at a kick in England's in-goal area, the television match official ruled that Watson had touched the ball down first. Wales coach Warren Gatland felt his side was denied a try, calling the decision a "terrible mistake" in what turned out to be a tightly-contested affair.

Round 2: Ireland vs. Italy —

Ireland cruised past Italy 56-19 in Dublin, with Conor Murray (pictured) getting on the score sheet.

Round 2: Ireland vs. Italy —

While Italy crossed for three tries, it wasn't enough to secure a bonus point. The Azzurri remain winless and bottom of the championship.

Round 2: Scotland vs. France —

Traveling French fans were in full voice at Murrayfield for their side's clash with Scotland.

Round 2: Scotland vs. France —

But it was the home supporters who had more reason to cheer as their side won 32-26, picking up a first win of the tournament.

Round 2: Scotland vs. France —

Greig Laidlaw put in a flawless kicking display, slotting 22 points from the tee.

Round 1: France vs. Ireland —

On the opening weekend of the Six Nations, Ireland fly-half Johnny Sexton was the hero as his side claimed a last gasp 15-13 victory over France.

Round 1: France vs. Ireland —

Sexton scored a long range drop goal with time up on the clock to claim victory.

Round 1: France vs. Ireland —

Irish fans celebrate in the Stade de France.

Round 1: France vs. Ireland —

Controversy arose in the game after France's Antoine Dupont was sent for a head injury assessment (HIA) despite appearing to injure his knee. The HIA call enabled France, who had used all of their substitutes, to reintroduce starting scrum half Maxime Machenaud as a temporary replacement during the game's closing stages.

Round 1: France vs. Ireland —

The dramatic nature of Ireland's late victory left the French crowd dejected.

Round 1: Wales vs. Scotland —

Scotland was another side to feel the blues on the opening weekend, succumbing 34-7 to Wales in Cardiff.

Round 1: Wales vs. Scotland —

Leigh Halfpenny scored two tries for the rampant Welsh.

Round 1: Wales vs. Scotland —

Steff Evans (pictured) and Gareth Davies also crossed the line for Wales.

Round 1: Wales vs. Scotland —

A happy Wales fan takes in the action in Cardiff as Wales trounce Scotland.

Round 1: Italy vs. England —

The final match of the opening weekend saw Italy face England in Rome.

Round 1: Italy vs. England —

Debutant Sam Simmonds scored twice for England as the reigning champions cut loose to win 46-15.

Round 1: Italy vs. England —

Owen Farrell also touched down and contributed four conversions and a penalty.

Six Nations 2018: Story of the tournament

Prev Next

READ: The incredible story of “Cool Runnings on grass”

“Athletes are training just as hard as the men, delivering commercial outcomes like the men are and therefore you can start to have not only the rational conversation about equality but also the more emotive conversation about it,” she told CNN’s World Rugby.

“It’s an enormous step forward for our women’s sevens team and I absolutely believe it’s the right one.”

Australia is unbeaten in this season’s Sevens World Series, winning tournaments in Dubai and Sydney.

Add to this an Olympic gold medal at Rio 2016 and it’s no surprise the seven-a-side game is booming Down Under – participation increased from 200,000 to 1.7 million between 2014 and 2017, including a 33% rise during the Olympic year.

Australia's Emma Tonegato (L), Charlotte Caslick (C) and Dominique Du Toit (R) celebrate beating New Zealand in the final of the Sydney Sevens.

Eye on the future

The first women’s Sevens World Series took place in 2012-13 and Australia became the first nation other than New Zealand to lift the title in 2016. This season’s competition takes in five venues with Australia well positioned to claim its second crown.

This year there’s the added incentive of a World Cup in July, hosted by the USA in San Francisco, and the Commonwealth Games, hosted in Australia’s Gold Coast.

Paris, France —

Victory for South Africa and a fifth-place finish for Fiji saw the Blitzboks take the 2017-18 Sevens World Series title by just two points.

Paris, France —

A runner-up finish for Australia in Paris was enough to secure the overall women's title ahead of rivals New Zealand.

Paris, France —

Portia Woodman bagged two tries in the Paris final, which ended 33-7 in favor of the Black Ferns. Despite three tournament wins, however, they couldn't defend their championship title.

London, England —

Fiji's Josua Tuisova looks for an offload in the final of the London Sevens against South Africa. His side ran out 21-17 victors to take control of the series.

Langford, Canada —

New Zealand's Black Ferns inflicted the heaviest ever series defeat on Australia in the final of the Canada Sevens, scoring eight tries in a 46-0 demolition of their rivals.

Singapore —

Fiji moved to the top of the standings with a tense victory over Australia in Singapore.

Kitakyushu, Japan —

New Zealand's Black Ferns backed up Commonwealth gold with silverware in Japan after a 24-12 victory over France in final.

Hong Kong —

Fiji made history in Hong Kong -- the most famous and best-loved leg of the Sevens World Series -- by winning a fourth consecutive title, defeating Kenya 24-12 in the final.

Hong Kong —

Japan gained a berth in next year's Sevens World Series with a 19-14 victory over Germany in the qualifier event.

Vancouver, Cananda —

Fiji fans celebrate in Vancouver where their country secured its second win of the Sevens World Series.

Vancouver, Cananda —

Kenya was the tournament's surprise package. Playing in its first final since Singapore in 2016, Shujaa eventually went down 31-12 to Fiji.

Las Vegas, USA —

There was an historic result in Vegas as the Eagles lifted the trophy for the first time on home soil with a 28-0 victory over Argentina in the final. It was just the second title USA have won, the first coming in London in 2015.

Hamilton, New Zealand —

Fiji overturned a first-half deficit against South Africa to claim a first title of the season in Hamilton -- the first time the town has hosted a Sevens World Series tournament after the New Zealand leg was moved from Wellington.

Sydney, Australia —

Australia's women continued their storming start to the season in Sydney. Tim Walsh's side became the first team ever to go a whole tournament without conceding a point.

Sydney, Australia —

There was more good news to come for home fans that weekend in Sydney. The men eased past South Africa 29-0 in the final, with Ben O'Donnell (pictured) grabbing a brace.

Cape Town, South Africa —

The All Blacks claimed a first tournament victory since March 2016 in Cape Town, toppling Argentina in the final.

Dubai, UAE —

Having finished second to New Zealand in last season's overall standings, Australia's women got their campaign off to winning ways by overwhelming USA 34-0 in the opening tournament in Dubai.

Dubai, UAE —

Last year's world champion South Africa started this season as they ended the last. The Blitzboks saw off New Zealand 24-12 in the UAE to win the first piece of silverware up for grabs in the men's competition.

Rugby Sevens World Series: Story of the season

Prev Next

The stars of the Australian team have both youth and experience on their side. Emma Tonegato is 22 but has already scored 73 Sevens World Series tries. Charlotte Caslick is the same age and has already played in 138 games.

While the team’s immediate future looks promising, it’s long-term prospects are equally positive. A university sevens league has recently been introduced, giving up-and-coming players the chance to not only develop their skills, but to also stake a claim for national selection.

Visit cnn.com/sport for more news and videos

“It’s just going leaps and bounds,” says sevens co-captain Sharni Williams, one of the gold medal winners in Rio.

“Having a new CEO as well come in on top of what we’ve started to create – women’s sport in Australia is really taking off.”

- Source: CNN " data-fave-thumbnails="{"big": { "uri": "https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/180119112919-ben-ryan-france-sevens-coach.jpg?q=x_3,y_97,h_1323,w_2352,c_crop/h_540,w_960" }, "small": { "uri": "https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/180119112919-ben-ryan-france-sevens-coach.jpg?q=x_3,y_97,h_1323,w_2352,c_crop/h_540,w_960" } }" data-vr-video="false" data-show-html="" data-byline-html="

" data-timestamp-html="

Updated 12:11 PM EST, Tue February 13, 2018

" data-check-event-based-preview="" data-is-vertical-video-embed="false" data-network-id="" data-publish-date="2018-01-29T14:53:13Z" data-video-section="sport" data-canonical-url="https://www.cnn.com/videos/sports/2018/01/19/ben-ryan-france-rugby-sevens-fiji-summer-olympics-world-rugby-spc.cnn" data-branding-key="rugby-sevens-worldwide" data-video-slug="ben ryan france rugby sevens fiji summer olympics world rugby spc" data-first-publish-slug="ben ryan france rugby sevens fiji summer olympics world rugby spc" data-video-tags="ben ryan,europe,fiji,france,melanesia,oceania,olympics,rugby,sports and recreation,sports events,sports figures,western europe" data-details="">

Video Ad Feedback

Can Ben Ryan work magic with France?

06:13 - Source: CNN

A healthy position to be in, but getting there hasn’t necessarily been easy. Even Tim Walsh, coach of the women’s sevens team, was forced to reassess his rugby values.

“Seven years ago I was offered the coach and I said ‘no, I’m not coaching women’s rugby,’” he admitted.

“The whole world is seeing what amazing athletes and rugby players the women are. They’re basically opening up a whole new genre and a whole new market to world rugby.”