Blue Boars win their way through to the CNRU tens decider

Narrabri Rugby Club will get a chance to defend their Central North Rugby Union women’s tens premiership on home soil at Dangar Park on Saturday after scoring a dominant preliminary final victory last weekend.

The minor premiers travelled to Moree’s Weebolla Oval on Saturday where they met the Tamworth Pirates, and they returned as 43-12 winners after outscoring the third-placed side seven tries to two and four conversions to one.

Narrabri will now face Gunnedah in a grand final rematch this Saturday after the Red Devils took down the Blue Boars in the major semi-final on Saturday, August 17.

Shaine Maunder opened the scoring in Moree as the Blue Boars’ top try-scorer in 2024 crossed in the seventh minute to make the score 5-0, and she went in again on the stroke of quarter-time as she scored a runaway try to give Narrabri a 10-0 lead at the break.

April Smith made her return from injury in the preliminary final after missing the semi-final and she made her mark on the game one minute into the second term as she crossed for Narrabri’s third try. Skipper Bella Cruickshank then added the extras to put the Blue Boars ahead 17-0.

That became 24-0 five minutes later when Natalia McInnes claimed the side’s fourth and Cruickshank kicked her second conversion.

Narrabri looked set to go into half-time with that lead until Tamworth’s Tomi Gavin scored a try in the final minute of the half to make the score 24-5 at the main break.

Pirates struck first after play restarted as Nicola Robinson went in for their second try in the 24th minute, which Gavin converted to reduce the side’s deficit to 12 points.

The Tamworth team was beginning to mount some serious pressure on the Blue Boars during the third term but it was alleviated when Shona McFarland produced a steal inside her own half and made a 60-metre run to score in the right corner as Narrabri went ahead 29-12.

McFarland’s try was the last scoring play of the third quarter as the Blue Boars entered the final break leading by 17 points, and that became 24 just three minutes into the fourth quarter when Maunder broke the line on her attacking 22 and charged away to cross between the posts. Cruickshank converted that try to give Narrabri a 36-12 lead, but the Blue Boars’ captain was unable to finish the game after she suffered an ankle injury late in the contest, which she is expected to overcome to be able to play in the grand final.

That meant Amelie Cobb-Johnson stepped up for the kick following Maunder’s fourth and final try in the last minute of the match, which she nailed to make the final score 43-12.

Narrabri’s coach Mitch Creighton was thrilled with the way his side played and was pleased with the manner in which they bounced back from just their third loss of the year a week earlier.

“They were exceptional,” Creighton told The Courier.

“The fast start was a massive key. We came out firing on all cylinders and every single girl knew what they wanted.

“They deserved to be there, so they made a red-hot crack of it.

“Our attack was incredible and we stepped up our game in defence to shut down the Pirates’ quicker girls out wide.

“Our girls just wanted to win. You could see that right from the start. They were exceptional in the warm-up and they really turned up and got it done.”