Success for Narrabri rugby second grade and women’s sides in Inverell

Narrabri Rugby Club was victorious in all three grades away from home in Inverell on Saturday in round 16 of the 2023 Central North Rugby Union campaign.

Before the Blue Boars got the job done in first grade with a 31-10 win over the Highlanders, they demolished the hosts 94-0 in the women’s tens match and then prevailed 36-17 in second grade.

The club’s first grade player-coach Jake Packer commended those two sides, which he thought were both outstanding on the day.

“It was brilliant. We had the bus trip over, so it makes the bus trip back even better when you get three wins,” Packer told The Courier.

“The girls were magnificent.

“Even though they won by such a big scoreline, they just stuck to their structures and didn’t get into that game plan of everyone trying to score a try. They really stuck to it.

“Reserve grade, it was a really good win for them considering we were struggling for numbers. We have quite a lot of injuries and a few boys were away, so they were really struggling to get numbers. They didn’t have a team sorted come Thursday.

“The coaches, Todd (Farrer), Chase (Magner), and Took (Dylan Duncan), are doing a really good job at getting boys on the paddock and getting wins.”

The Blue Boars’ women’s team dominated from start to finish as they scored a massive 94-0 win to return to the top of the tens competition ladder.

Cassidy Morley went over for five tries in that victory, Abbey Anderson scored a hat-trick, Toni Gale bagged a double, and Miranda Hamilton, Tori Allison, Natalia McInnes and Annie Wenner all crossed once in the 14-try rout.

The Blue Boars also kicked 12 of their 14 conversions as Gale slotted 10 of them and Shona McFarlane knocked over two.

The win was an important one for the Blue Boars as it saw them move to the top of the table with just two rounds remaining.

They went into the match trailing Gunnedah by three points, but the Red Devils lost 37-24 in Tamworth against Pirates.

Gunnedah earned a bonus point to move to 74 competition points but Narrabri finished the weekend on 75. Pirates (68) are six points behind Gunnedah in third place and Moree (50) rounds out the top four following its round 16 bye.

Sixth-placed Quirindi (37) won 29-25 against fifth-placed Scone (45) on Saturday as the Brumbies finished the weekend five points behind the Bulls.

Seventh-placed Barraba (31) had a bye and the Highlanders (21) are still ranked last following their loss against Narrabri.

In second grade, the Blue Boars’ top-two hopes were dependant on a win and they got the job done to stay just three points behind second-placed Moree, which had the round 16 bye.

Savenaca Bainimarama scored a hat-trick for the hosts and Peniasi Waqa Tausu converted one of those, but Narrabri was able to go over for six tries and convert three of them.

Kaylan Murray, Harry Pattison, Tim Brooker, Hamish Nolan, Adam Gordon and Jake Donaldson all crossed for a try each, while Gordon slotted two conversions and Jim Schwager kicked one.

Other round 16 results in second grade saw Pirates outscore Gunnedah 47-12, Quirindi beat Scone 41-10, and Barraba prevail by a forfeit against Walcha.

Those results saw the Pirates (76) remain 10 points clear at the top of the table over Moree (66). Narrabri (63) is still third, Barraba (49) completes the top four, and then ranked fifth to ninth are Quirindi (39), Gunnedah (38), Scone (29), Walcha (25) and the Inverell Highlanders (24).