She will be in the side for Hamilton’s leg of the HSBC World Series at the weekend after injuries and a pregnancy kept her out of the game.
While Sevens management staff took a cautious approach over her return, Cherry (pictured) was in no doubt about her readiness.
“I knew going into the Christmas break that was a really crucial period for my training,” she told rugby.com.au.
“Coming back after that I was in really good stead and slipped straight into full team training at the start of the year and have got a solid two weeks and I’m really excited to now head to Hamilton,” she said.
Coach John Manenti said Cherry would have a chance to play in Hamilton.
“It’s a big wait-and-see. We’ll get her out there early in the piece and see how she’s travelling,” he said.
The format may have changed but it still involved six games over the weekend if making the final.
“There’s two games on day one so we’ll certainly give her big minutes in one and probably easier minutes and see how she pulls up on day two.
“The first game of any season is tough for anyone, so you’re sore after that. So how she’s going to pull up after day is anyone’s guess so that’s why we bring her to New Zealand to give her that opportunity to play a little bit,” he said.
Co-captain Sharni Williams expects Cherry to respond well to the pressure of her return.
“We didn’t push her to come back but we know what Cherry’s like…she’s a determined, amazing country girl that just thrives on expectation. It’s really exciting to have her back,” she said.
Missing from the side due to injuries are Jakiya Whitfield and Charlotte Caslick. But joining Cherry after recovering from injuries are Emma Sykes and Dom du Toit.
“They’re both girls that have got experience on the World Series and obviously Emma brings another kicker into the fold which is handy to have and Dominique’s a good finisher. She can play centre, she can play wing and we’ve been working on playing a little bit in the forwards too, so it gives us a bit more experience,” Manenti said.
Australia are drawn with Brazil, Russia and the United States in their pool.
