The Buildcorp Women’s National XVs Championships kicked off at St Ignatius College in Riverview, Sydney today, showcasing the growing depth of female rugby talent across the country.
Following the ARU’s reinstatement of the National Championships in 2015, the goal of competing at Nationals and the lure of a Wallaroos jersey has driven greater female engagement in XVs rugby and resulted in a more competitive Nationals tournament.
Reigning champions Sydney, 2015 runners-up ACT and WA all finished the day undefeated with dominant performances across their games. The major upset for the day was QLD’s shock loss to a defensively solid NSW Country, meaning the top spot in Pool B – and a valuable grand final berth – is up for grabs.
Wallaroos Head Coach Paul Verrell said: “Reigning champions Sydney showed they have pace, spread the ball well and they can control the game. Similarly, ACT have a lot of young girls who impressed and they played a very good structured game, their shape in attack was excellent. I think they’ll get better as the tournament goes on and they’re really going to push for the title.
“Queensland started slowly and Country NSW shocked them with that win. It was good to see QLD rally in their second game and play really well, particularly their reserves who added to the team and got them over the line. NSW Country surprised everybody and out-enthused QLD in that first game, and their defence was great. Then against ACT they were in the contest for most of the game.
“To their credit despite limited preparation time the Defence Force played well, so hopefully they’ll keep improving. The SA side also always turn up and despite also having limited preparation, they never give up and they had a couple of standout players.
“In the WA side it was great to see a few girls who’ve been off the radar for a while who’ve come back to play rugby. We were pleasantly surprised with what they did. I’m looking forward to Day 2 as I'm sure we'll see more promising rugby.”
Sydney v ADFRU
Sydney showed their class early in the game keeping the Defence Force scoreless in the first half with tries to Ash Hewson, Hanna Sio and Shontelle Stowers. Sydney continued to dominate in the second half, as Stowers nabbed a double, followed by a 50m run to number 8, Victoria Latu who scored a five-pointer under the posts. ADFRU countered in the dying minutes when a lucky bounce allowed fullback Amy Carpenter to score in the corner. Sydney 38 (Ash Hewson, Hanna Sio, Shontelle Stowers 2, Victoria Latu tries; Ash Hewson 2, Chloe Leaupepe, Alexandra Sulusi cons) defeated ADFRU 5 (Amy Carpenter try)
WA v Victoria
WA dominated possession during the wet first half, capitalising on an overlap in the 4th minute to open the scoring with a try to wing Caitlyn Edwards, followed by another to Te Rau Pasene-Grennell. Edwards scored her second after half time, and as the rain intensified, Victoria were forced to make countless tackles and showed good defensive line speed, however were unable to convert their few opportunities. WA 19 (Caitlyn Edwards 2, Te Rau Pasene-Grennell tries; Hayley Barclay 2 conc) defeated Victoria 0
QLD v NSW Country
QLD’s ominous backline struggled to make an impact in the first half, with NSW Country controlling the momentum with their hard-running forward pack. The first try came on the half time whistle when a charged-down kick on QLD’s line was snatched by NSW Country captain Kate Gilbert. In a tight second half, Country managed to hold on to their lead holding up an almost certain try for QLD in the final minutes. NSW Country 5 (Kate Gilbert) defeated QLD 0
ACT v SA
The ACT side showed their backline flair punching out three tries in the first half at the hands of Paremo Marsh, Shellie Milward, Kasey Dragisic. Strong individual performances from Tayla Stanford and Dragisic kept the Brumbies women on the front foot in the second half, and Irene MacArthur capitalised with the side’s fourth try. Despite moments of brilliance in attack, SA were left scoreless. ACT 24 (Paremo Marsh, Shellie Milward, Kasey Dragisic, Irene MacArthur tries; Sarah Carter 2 cons) defeated SA 0
Sydney v Victoria
In their second match of the day, a well-structured Sydney team mounted consistent pressure on the Victorians, running in six tries to none. Victoria Latu scored two, with her second coming off a powerful burst through a lineout. Despite rallying in the second half, the physical Victorian outfit was unable to break through the Sydney line. Sydney 36 (Ash Hewson, Victoria Latu 2, Emily Chancellor, Cobie-Jane Morgan, Iliseva Batibasaga tries; Ash Hewson 3 cons) Victoria 0
ADFRU v WA
In a tight tussle, the ADFRU and WA sides spent most of the first-half parked in the middle of the field, as both teams tried to gain the upper hand. WA showed promise in attack, but their clean breaks were nullified by strong defence and relentless pressure from ADFRU. WA scrumhalf Kendra Fell’s try in the 6th minute was the only try of the match. WA 10 (Kendra Fell try; Hayley Barclay pen; Hayley Barclay con) defeated ADFRU 0
ACT v NSW Country
After their upset against QLD, NSW Country charged out, halting the Brumbies attacking line with their rampant defence. ACT outside centre Tayla Stanford eventually broke through, diving through Country’s defence for the first try. A change of pace in the second half saw the ACT overwhelm Country, nabbing three more tries including a spectacular solo effort from Stanford who scored in the corner on the final whistle. ACT 22 (Tayla Stanford 2, Louise Burrows, Shellie Milward tries; Nikki D'Aquino con) defeated Country 0
QLD v SA
In the last match of the day, QLD’s traction was difficult for the SA team to curb, as they ran in four tries in the first half, slicing through the SA defence. The bullrush continued in the second half with some great running from QLD who scored another three unanswered tries. QLD Winger Siniva Ah-Ki had a standout match, running in three tries, while flanker Kirby Sefo scored two. QLD 39 (Siniva Ah-Ki 3, Kirby Sefo 2, Mele Akuila, Ana Fotu tries; Zahara Temara 2 cons) defeated SA 0
