Tia Hinds leads Wallaroos into Black Ferns clash as dual-code pioneer eyes XVs mark

Tia Hinds will start at scrum-half for the Wallaroos when they face the Black Ferns, bringing with her a résumé that spans two Olympic Games, a Commonwealth Games gold medal, a Women’s Rugby World Cup appearance, and a Super Rugby Women’s title with the NSW Waratahs — all before her 24th birthday.

The 23-year-old is one of the most prominent figures in Australia’s push to align its women’s sevens and XVs pathways, having moved fluidly between the two formats since her XVs debut against Fiji in May 2024. She has since earned 10 caps in gold and featured in all but two weekends of the HSBC SVNS Series as part of a World Championship-winning side.

“It has been pretty full on,” Hinds told RugbyPass when asked how much she has processed her achievements. “It’s been really exciting for me, always having so much to explore in rugby. The crossover now between sevens and XVs and that ability for us to go into both, it’s opened a lot more doors for us.”

Hinds is candid about the contrasting demands of each format. Sevens, she explains, rewards expansive skill and instinct — wide passes, open-field tackles, eyes-up decision-making. XVs, by contrast, rewards structure and tactical intelligence.

“Playing XVs, it’s a lot more of a structured game, more of a game like chess: being able to manipulate attack and defence and finding those soft shoulders because it’s not as easy as sevens,” she said. “There’s just a lot more to think about and it’s a lot more technical and tactical.”

Rather than finding the two codes in conflict, Hinds has used each to sharpen the other. Her most recent sevens outing saw her score a try and kick four conversions as Australia defeated New Zealand in Valladolid — a performance that underlined how seamlessly she has transferred her skills.

The success of teammates such as Maya Stewart in sevens has only strengthened Hinds’ conviction that formal alignment between the two programmes should be accelerated. With the Wallaroos now preparing to face the Black Ferns, she is eager for the squad to demonstrate what a unified Australian women’s rugby system can produce at the highest level.