Blue Boars girls triumph

Narrabri Junior Rugby Club’s open girls team has produced a grand final comeback for the ages, overturning a 14-point deficit to defeat Inverell 39–33 and claim the premiership at Scully Park in Tamworth.

In a thrilling contest between the two form teams of the competition, Narrabri appeared to be up against it early after Inverell dominated possession and raced to a 14–0 lead.

The Inverell side had defeated Narrabri convincingly in their only previous meeting of the season.

Narrabri defended courageously through consecutive phases before Inverell eventually broke through for the opening try. A second try followed soon after.

But when the opportunity finally came, Georgia Horne made it count.

With just a minute remaining in the opening quarter, Horne sliced through the Inverell defence with Narrabri’s first real possession of the match to score and give her team a lifeline.

Narrabri trailed 14–5 at the first break.

The second quarter saw Narrabri begin to find more possession and confidence. Aleira Sunderland broke through the middle of the Inverell defence with a sweeping run to score, before Taylor Horne powered through for another try to put Narrabri in front 15–14.

Inverell responded with a quick-tap try following a ruck infringement and regained the lead before adding another try just before half-time to take a 28–15 advantage into the main break.

Narrabri was struggling to match Inverell’s dominance at the breakdown, but the team’s determination never wavered. Defensive efforts from Eva Goodwin and a desperate diving tackle from Taylor Horne helped keep Narrabri in the contest, setting the tone for what was to come.

Early in the second half, Ruby Clayton produced a spectacular try-saving tackle after chasing down an Inverell breakaway, but was subsequently shown a yellow card for an accidental hair pull.

With Narrabri reduced to six players, the situation looked even more daunting.

Instead, it became the turning point of the grand final.

Pinned inside their own defensive zone, Narrabri produced an extraordinary sequence of defence, making four try-saving tackles in succession before winning a penalty.

From there, the ball was moved quickly and Taylor Horne took on the defensive line before finding her sister Georgia, who sprinted 90 metres to score.

The try, scored while Narrabri was down a player, cut the deficit and sparked a remarkable comeback.

Narrabri entered the final quarter trailing 33–22, but with belief growing.

Rather than attempting to match Inverell’s strength in the ruck, Narrabri began throwing the ball into space and moving it rapidly through the hands.

The strategy paid immediate dividends.

Six pairs of hands were involved in the movement from the restart before the ball reached Georgia Horne, who raced away to complete her hat-trick and reduce the margin to 33–27.

Inverell was under genuine pressure.

A powerful run from Ella Korach created the opportunity, Charlie Tout provided the quick recycle and Brielle Bourke finished the move out wide to bring Narrabri within a single point at 33–32.

As the match entered its final stages, Narrabri’s supporters roared their team on.

Then, with the premiership hanging in the balance, Narrabri produced one final attacking passage that summed up the team’s approach throughout the comeback.

Kirra Mason won the restart and the ball was moved calmly through several sets of hands before Georgia Horne broke clear to score her fourth try of the afternoon.

Narrabri had hit the lead 39–33 with less than two minutes remaining.

Those final moments tested every ounce of the team’s resilience. Inverell was given one last opportunity after Narrabri was penalised twice for offside, but the girls refused to yield.

With the team exhausted, Taylor Horne produced one final crucial defensive play, reading an Inverell kick-through perfectly and clearing the danger before kicking the ball into touch.

The final whistle confirmed a remarkable 39–33 premiership victory.

“This was amazing … everyone contributed,” coach Denis Harvey said.

“They didn’t panic. Everyone did their job.

“These girls didn’t give up. They took on the challenge.”

Harvey said you could see the exhaustion on some of the girls’ faces after they’d given the premiership match their all.

“I could not be prouder of them,” he said.

Harvey praised the strong Inverell team which boasted five Central North level players. Four of their squad had also played Country.

The Blue Boars’ win was made even more special in front of a strong local crowd which had travelled to Tamworth.

“They just took over the eastern side of the field,” Harvey said of the Blue Boars’ supporters.

Narrabri Junior Rugby Club’s 16s boys took to the field prior to the open girls match.

The Blue Boars boys came up against minor premiers Moree.

In a hard-fought game, the boys went down 40–46, with the game going right to the siren.

Throughout Friday afternoon’s match, the lead went back and forth for the 70 minutes.

The junior Bulls started the scoring with a try almost two minutes into the first half.

The Blue Boars quickly returned fire with Zaiden Kelly sprinting for a try almost three minutes later to equalise at 5–5.

Moree repeated again, also with a conversion, setting the scene for what would be a topsy-turvy clash.

The Bulls added another try to the board with almost 22 minutes left on the clock.

Romeo Backhouse-Smith quickly took control of the ball almost two minutes later and made a dash towards the try line.

Jarrad Lawler lined up for a successful conversion, with the margin clawed back to 12–17.

A Lachie Coffey pass perfectly set up Fletcher Whan to equalise the scoreboard to 17-all.

Lawler again successfully scored a conversion, giving the Blue Boars a 19–17 lead coming into the half-time break.

Moree added to the board in the second half with a try almost two minutes in, followed by a conversion.

The young Blue Boars won a scrum, with a clear Zaiden Kelly pass to Fletcher Whan creating a scoring opportunity.

Whan booted the ball down the field with Jace Campbell sprinting to seize control of the ball for a successful try.

Lawler claimed his third successful conversion, giving the Blue Boars a two-point lead, 26–24.

The Bulls the scored with a try in the corner to take a three-point lead.

A Lincoln Saunders try put the Blue Boars back in front, with a Lawler conversion adding another two points.

With 22 minutes left on the clock, the Blue Boars were back in the lead by four points.

Moree added another try with almost 20 minutes to go, taking a narrow one-point lead.

The Bulls again scored with almost 14 minutes left, with a successful conversion taking the margin out to eight points.

Another Bulls try with eight minutes to go saw Moree lead 46–33.

Romeo Backhouse-Smith weaved his way through the Bulls’ defence to dash towards the tryline.

Another Lawler conversion saw the Blue Boars trail 40–46.

With four minutes left until the final siren, the Blue Boars boys fought hard in an attempt to get one final scoring opportunity.

Winning a scrum with three minutes to go, the ball was successfully passed through to Romeo Backhouse-Smith who fought hard in an attempt to push through the Bulls’ defence.

The Blue Boars later gained control of the ball with one minute left and tried to find any opportunity to score, but were stopped by the Bulls.

The Blue Boars boys put in an extraordinary effort and can be proud of their performances throughout the season as well as in the nail-biting grand final, which went down to the wire.

As recently reported in The Courier, all teams have shown great dedication in what has been a successful season for the club in the Central North youth competition.