They haven’t been at it for long, but the girls at Gloucester High School are killing it in the current rugby sevens competition.
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Attending the qualifying round for the NSW Waratah Cup in Crescent Head on Friday June 22, the team has come out undefeated.
“We didn’t even have a point scored against us,” Courtney Whitby said. “It was awesome.”
Their success means they move onto the next stage of the competition which is being played at The King's School in Sydney on Wednesday July 4.
“For such a small town school to be going to play at such a prestigious school is a good feeling,” Courtney said.
GHS teacher Adam Cameron said the girls have come a long way in a short period of time. The opportunity to play a full contact sport like rugby union has only been available to the female students in the past couple of years.
“It started two years ago with a league gala day,” he said.
Adam approached a few of the students to see if they were interested and encouraged them to just go out and give it a go.
“Now it’s upwards and onwards,” he smiled.
At the recent competition, Gloucester played Port Macquarie’s St. Columba Anglican School winning 46-0. The second game saw the team come up against Wauchope High School with another convincing win of 22-0.
The victories secured a spot in the final against Coffs Harbour’s St John Paul College, where GHS again dominated the field winning 45-0.
Players, like Marine Barkwill are trying the sport for the first time, having only played league in the past.
Some of the union players followed up their stellar performance at a league event in Port Macquarie on Tuesday June 26, where they also finished up undefeated and will be moving onto the next event in Coffs Harbour on August 8.
Rugby sevens is a unique, fast-paced, modified version of the 15-a-side game that allows for a quick outcome, finishing in just 14 minutes of play, with seven minutes halves.
The competition is run by NSW Rugby with the girls taking part in training with a development officer on Fridays during their sport period.