Junior girls’ rugby union in the Central North zone is going from strength to strength in 2025 following the introduction of a gala day program for young female players aged 9-12 years old, which made significant strides at Cooma Oval on Sunday.
The annual Narrabri Junior Rugby Club gala day attracted just under 530 young players from 13 different clubs, many of whom were female players.
Some of those girls lined up alongside the boys in the mixed divisions from under-6s through to under-12s, and there were 44 who played in the two all-girls program divisions.
After taking part in skills and drills as well as smaller games at previous gala day events around the zone this year, the Narrabri carnival saw the girls play 40-minute matches on a full-sized field for the first time as players from a number of different clubs teamed up to take their game to a new level.
Narrabri Junior Rugby Club president Will Winston-Smith told The Courier that it was a momentous day for the program.
“It is the first year they’ve done this at Central North level, and it has been nothing short of a resounding success,” Winston-Smith said.
“I can’t talk any higher of it. It’s been great.
“All the girls that play in it love it, and it’s seeming like the numbers are slowly building over the season.
“The reality is, often the girls have been sitting on the sidelines at these gala days, and we want everyone to be able to be involved.
“In the Friday night youth comp, the girls’ comps are quite strong, so we really need to be feeding young girls into those competitions to keep them going strong forever as well.
“While it was partly brought in to keep the youth comps going strong, there was also just a demand for it.
“It’s been popular for the Narrabri girls too. There were 44 girls there on Sunday, and we had 12 of them.
“Our carnival saw the girls play two full 40-minute games for the first time ever, and they all had fun. They have done coaching sessions and smaller games in the past, but this time both age groups got to play their first full games.
“There were 23 under-12s and they played 11-a-side, and 21 under-10s and they played 10-a-side.
“It really was a great day.”
There are now three more gala days to contest in 2025, all of which will include the junior girls’ program. Those include Moree this Sunday, Inverell on Sunday, August 31, and Armidale on Sunday, September 7.
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