"My mum Renee, my No.1 supporter, will watch me run out against Queensland in my first Origin game. That was a massive shock to the system. Tiana Penitani knows exactly what the 144 players are going through as they count down the days until the rugby sevens competition at the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games kicks off in Argentina on Saturday. The Women’s State of Origin profile of Tiana Penitani including career statistics, season stats, games, tries, goals, tackles and fantasy scores.
Date of Birth: 12 January 1996 ... Penitani works as a customer care specialist and is a Communications student at University of Technology, Sydney. Australia won’t be in Buenos Aires to defend the title Penitani, du Toit and others won after losing the Oceania qualifier to New Zealand earlier this year, but the 22-year-old will still be keeping an eye on the results before she heads to the USA to commentate on next weekend’s opening round of the HSBC World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series 2019. “Those players were superstars at YOG 2014 and if it wasn’t for this tournament we wouldn’t have been given the privilege of seeing the talent they had to offer,” admitted Penitani. It's a journey that she looks back on with mixed emotions and she bravely discussed some of her life's most painful moments in a column for Players Voice. That’s hardly surprising given she was in their shoes four years ago as co-captain of the Australian side that went on to win gold at the first Olympic event to feature rugby sevens following its addition to the Olympic programme in 2009. Twelve months later she made the decision to retire from sevens and after some time of contemplation she found her way back to her childhood love of rugby league, via some old touch footy mates who were playing for the Cronulla Sharks. She was selected to represent New South Wales City at May's National Championships and was awarded the tournament's MVP. The family had just returned from a Fijian holiday and Solomon had gone out with his employees from the concreting business he owned to celebrate their success. Catch up on SBS On Demand. Tiana Penitani (born 12 January 1996) is a professional Rugby League player. 2019 Season / Appearances 4 . Tries 2 . SBS acknowledges the traditional owners of country throughout Australia. She hopes to inspire young women/girls to play rugby league while representing the Red V. Career / Appearances 4 . I haven’t looked back.
“It was interesting for me to go from playing on the world series and at a World Cup to then play in a tournament where I was up against young women the same age as me, I felt like my experience helped my game so much, especially having a leadership role alongside my co-captain Brooke Anderson, one of my closest friends. By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.
Tiana joins host & sports journalist Sam Squiers to discuss the impact of losing her father as a teenager, the injury that took her away from the 2016 Olympics, and falling in love with rugby league after 18 months away from professional sport.See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information. Solomon Penitani, 36, was shot three times in the chest at close range by a fellow patron at Churchill's Sports Bar in Kingsford about 4am. “Rugby sevens is a tough game, especially with a multiple-day format and the unpredictable nature of the game. Penitani was also given the honour of carrying the Australian flag during the opening ceremony – an experience she says was “easily one of the best moments of my career” – for a competition that marked her return after 13 months out following knee surgery. Since then, she represented Australia at a Women's Rugby World Cup at just 17. Former Australian sevens star Tiana Penitani remembers how she felt when the Youth Olympic Games gold medal was put round her neck in China four years ago. “Nanjing was an experience that made me realise why people play sport at a high level and why I played rugby sevens. She was the youngest ever player to represent Australia at a rugby sevens World Series event and would likely have played a key role in the gold medal winning team at Rio if not for a knee reconstruction that ultimately affected her love for the sport and triggered retirement at the age of 21 before she found her way across to rugby league. A lot of people don’t see the hard work and sacrifice that goes into performing at the highest level and to be in the village environment with the best young athletes in the world was a privilege and an eye-opener as to why we all do what we do.”. Watch the controversial new event series The Comey Rule now on Stan.