Sariah Paki

Sariah Paki created history in 2018, debuting for Australia at the Dubai Sevens at just 17 years of age. This meant the Manly product was the youngest person ever to play for Australia in the Sevens World Series.

Ironically Sariah, who has been nicknamed ‘Big Girl’ thanks to her physical and aggressive style of play, grew up playing touch football.

After encouragement from her father, she began playing rugby league. Playing as a front rower, Sariah featured in the Cronulla Sharks team that took out the Tarsha Gale Cup (NSW U19 Womens Premiership) in 2018. Little did she know she was also playing with a future Australian Rugby Sevens Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympic teammate in Faith Nathan.

Following this match, Sariah began to turn her attention to her Rugby Sevens dream. After spending some time in the development system, Sariah played for Australia in a youthful side selected for the Oceania Sevens in November 2018.

Sariah’s strong performances across the tournament led to her Dubai debut just two weeks later. 
Sariah could have played more Sevens tournaments if not for the interruptions provided by the COIVD-19 pandemic. In this period, she played in the domestic Uni 7s tournament, designed to prepare the Australian players for the delayed Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

Her performances saw her included in the Australian team which took on New Zealand in a six-game series held in Auckland, as well as the Oceania 7s team which was Australia’s final hit out before the Tokyo Olympics.

Sariah made her Olympic debut in Australia’s group stage win against Japan. After progressing through the group stages, Australia was set to face Sevens juggernauts Fiji in the quarter-finals. In a tight affair Australia was defeated 14-12, denying them a chance at a medal in Tokyo.

Sariah scored her first Olympic try against ROC in the side's 35-7 win to start the 5th-8th classification games. A win against the United States ultimately saw Australia claim fifth place in the competition.

The following year Sariah featured in the Australian team at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. Her best performance of the tournament came in the match against Scotland in the group stage where she scored two tries. 

Sariah played in the final of the tournament, where Australia defeated Fiji 22-12, avenging the loss in Tokyo and claiming gold.

With the focus then shifting to the Paris Olympics, Sevens coach Tim Walsh placed more responsibility on Sariah. She was named in the Australian extended squad for the 2023-24 World Series and played in every tournament of the season, which Australia won for the fourth time.

At the Paris 2024 Olympics Sariah and the team were a perfect three wins from three games in the pool stage. They took care of Ireland in the quarter-finals 40-7 before a strong Canadian team halted Australia's run in the semi-finals, inflicting a 21-12 loss.

In a tense fight for a bronze medal against the USA, the Americans scored a converted try after time expired for a 14-12 score to relegate the Aussies to fourth place.