Narrabri Blue Boars are three games away from the first undefeated Central North Rugby Union women’s 10s campaign following a 70-point rout on home soil on Saturday.
The Blue Boars welcomed the Barraba Rams to Dangar Park for their round 11 clash and they showed no signs of rust after their round 10 bye as they maintained their first clean sheet of the season in a 70-0 win.
No side has ever gone through the CNRU 10s regular season campaign without a loss, with Tamworth Pirates in 2022 and Narrabri Blue Boars in 2023 both winning all but one of their matches. Narrabri lost two games last season but are now eyeing off 12 from 12 in 2025.
Toni Rae starred with 33 of the 70 points on Saturday as she crossed for five tries and slotted four conversions, while April Smith bagged a double and also kicked one conversion. The other five Blue Boars tries were shared between Kaitlyn Armitage, Belle Byrne, Briana Anderson, Peta Cox and Lidia McCauley as they finished the day with 12.
The Blue Boars’ coach Andrew Gale thought his side’s performance was as close to perfect as it could have been.
“They were very clinical. Just unbelievable,” Gale told The Courier.
“I think everything that we’ve been training for worked, 100 per cent.
“We were way ahead at half-time, and basically my words were ‘I don’t care how many points we score, just keep them to zero’. That was the aim and the girls did it.
“There was one time we had a near-miss there, but Toni ran her down.
“They’re such a good bunch of girls. If we could have all of them fit and available at the same time, that would be awesome, but that’s a bit hard at the moment.”
The victory was Narrabri’s ninth in as many games, and they will be going for a perfect 10 this Saturday when they travel to Chillingworth Oval to challenge the Tamworth Pirates in a top-of-the-table round 12 contest.
The Blue Boars will secure the women’s minor premiership for the third consecutive season if they win that game, but a loss could see Pirates close the current six-point gap to anywhere from one point to three.
“This weekend’s game for us is a mental battle,” Gale said.
“We’ve got the firepower to win. Don’t worry about that.
“Pirates are going to be physical, which they always are, and they’re pretty quick in the backs with a bit of size.
“Going over there is always tough, and they are running second, so it’s a mental battle for us. It’s a matter of doing what we’ve been doing all year, and it will be right. The girls just need to go out there and have fun.”
Meanwhile, Barraba’s loss on Saturday saw them slip from third to fifth. They remained on 30 points, while round 11 winners Moree (32 points) and Gunnedah (31 points) both climbed above them.
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