Fresh from the success of the Aussie women’s sevens team winning the gold medal against New Zealand at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, participation in women’s rugby sevens has exploded around the country, with women and girls flocking to the sport.

The Australian Rugby Union started the Uni 7s series to give more opportunity for women to not only play the sport at an elite level but also watch it with every round of the tournament streamed live.

Tasmania is set to savour a taste of the action with UTAS Stadium hosting round 1 of the series this weekend and the University of Tasmania entering a team representing the host state.

Entry is free with other participating teams being Macquarie University, Bond University, University of Queensland, University of Adelaide, University of Canberra, University of New England and Griffith University.  

The tournament will run over five weeks, with the series champion to be crowned after the final round at Bond University on the Gold Coast.

The Aussie 7s squad has been distributed among the various sides with UTAS gaining Shanice Parker.  

The tournament kicks off on Friday with the first match at 2.15pm and the last at 7.15pm. 

Saturday will see the finals take place with the first match scheduled to kick off at 1.40pm.

Meanwhile Launceston Rugby Club is keen to capitalise on a wave of interest in the sport not seen since October 30, 2003, when a crowd of 15,457 packed into York Park to watch Romania defeat Namibia in the World Cup.

The Bees are staging a come and try day at their Royal Park headquarters on Sunday.

Open to all ages, the event will give participants a taste of the sport with skills advice and games.

Game formats will include Viva 7s (which is a modified non-contact version of the sport), game on (a modified version with basic tackling) and rugby 7s (the fast-paced sport featured at the Olympics).

Members of LRUFC will be on hand to ask questions and provide advice.