Symes (21) proved on Saturday she is a fast learner - in only her second year of sevens she scored five tries for Otago White against Otago Blue in the trial match at the University Oval.
She was a key player for the Otago White team in the tournament that also included a team from South Canterbury.
The coaches used the tournament as match practice for the South Island regional tournament at Timaru on November 23. The top three teams there qualify for the national finals.
Symes, a physical education student, used her pace effectively with the ball in hand and had a devastating finish.
Her ball-handling skills were also of a high standard. She is still learning the ropes in sevens, but the raw talent she demonstrated makes her a possible contender for an Olympic spot in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
She has been named in the New Zealand hockey development squad and intends to keep playing hockey.
''I am also going to do athletics this summer to improve my speed,'' she said.
Otago Spirit winger Arna McLeod used her speed and skill to score two tries for Otago White. There was also power and strength in the midfield from Greer Muir and Lucy Anderson.
Newcomers to the squad to show promise on Saturday were Jessica Dolman and Lucy Flattery. Olivia Hickman has returned after playing in the team last year.
Two Otago teams will get useful match practice at Christchurch next weekend against Canterbury and Brazil.
The Otago men have won the South Island regional tournament for the past two years and coach Roy Hawker wants a three-peat in Timaru.
''Southland showed today that it has players in good form so it is not going to be easy to do that,'' Hawker said.
Otago has had a good record in the New Zealand sevens tournament since Hawker took charge two years ago. Otago was runner-up in his first year and was beaten by Taranaki in the semifinals this year.
The competition on Saturday between teams from South Canterbury, Southland and Otago was designed to see if any new players stood out.
''The emphasis today was to see if those individuals backed themselves at a higher level of rugby,'' Hawker said.
One of the new players who did stand out was former Otago Boys' High School First XV fullback Ben Millar, with his strong running.
''He was outstanding,'' Hawker said.
''Another player to impress me was Danny King, of Wakatipu. They are a couple of new players who have put themselves in the mix.''
The strong-running Tumua Ioane showed he had recovered from the injury that put him out of action during the club season.
Other players to impress the Otago coach were Harbour winger Lisala Halaleau and ball-playing locks Mike McKee and Tom Rowe.
Flying Taieri winger Tom Davie, who has recovered from his injuries, showed glimpses of his old pace. Another key player in the mix is Otago midfielder/winger Kieran Moffat.
