Narrabri Blue Boars secure CNRU women’s 10s competition threepeat

Narrabri Rugby Club’s champion women’s team captain and assistant coach Peta Cox was left pondering one final question after her side had beaten Tamworth Pirates in Saturday’s Central North Rugby Union grand final – ‘how can we top this next year?’.

The Blue Boars defeated the Pirates 35-26 in what was their toughest match of the season to end the campaign as the undefeated minor and major premiers.

The historic victory saw them raise the bar to a brand new height as they became the first side to go through the season with a 100 per cent win rate since the women’s division was introduced in 2018.

They also became the first team to win the grand final three years in a row just weeks after they had become the first side to claim three straight minor premierships.

The introduction of the Kookaburra Challenge Cup into the women’s division this year saw them become the first team to do the treble in a single season, and they also became the first side to play in four consecutive grand finals.

The Blue Boars were made to work harder than they have all year for the win as a fired-up Pirates outfit took it to them, but their class and fitness levels got them over the line despite a late scare.

They led 35-7 when grand final hero Toni Rae crossed for her fourth try of the contest just three minutes into the second stanza, but Tamworth managed two tries in the second quarter and another in the third to reduce the deficit to nine points.

The win was already secured for Narrabri when Tamworth’s Dhalara Knox dived over for their fourth and final try in the 38th minute, but they certainly pushed the Blue Boars to the final whistle and made them work for the shield.

Cox was one of the standout performers on the day as she dominated in the front row, and she told The Courier that it was a memorable grand final that brought some of the best out of both sides.

“It was pretty special. Going through the year undefeated and getting our third premiership. I don’t know how we are going to top that,” she said.

“I think we played one of the most physical games we’ve played all season. Our girls really stepped it up, and we had to because Tamworth came out firing and they really stuck it to us.

“They really made us work for it, and I was proud we could do what we did and get the win.

“We did the basics correctly. We supported each other and didn’t throw silly passes, and we worked hard for each other in both attack and defence.

“It was so hot out there, and a lot of us felt a lot more fatigue than we have in previous games purely because of that heat.

“When we got our fifth try, it did not feel like we had got the scoreline to 35-7. It felt a lot closer than that.

“They deserved the tries they got afterwards. I think we might have gotten a little complacent there. When we’re not making tackles, they’re going to score tries.

“We went out hard, though and we did get those points on the board. It got to the point where I felt comfortable and confident, even though we really had to work for those last 10 minutes.

“We had a bit of a mix-match bunch of girls this year, but a lot of the new girls knew each other, which helped,” Cox added.

“Everyone wanted to play footy and everyone wanted to have fun, so it made it really easy to get along with each other and support each other and do what we’ve done this season.”

The Blue Boars made a clear statement early in the game after receiving the kick-off and keeping possession for four minutes and 15 seconds.

They camped themselves on the Pirates’ line and Rae made the most of the field possession with a powerful run that saw her outmuscle a trio of Tamworth defenders before stretching out and planting the ball down for the first try of the game. She then added the extras to make the score 7-0.

Pirates finally earned possession of the ball with just over three minutes to play in the first quarter, and they made it count as a charging Knox run down the right wing put them within striking distance before three quick offloads from Kate Ferguson, Nicola Robinson and Sophie McCulloch put Tomi Gavin over to score.

The Tamworth captain/coach converted her try to lock the score up at 7-all, but Cox won the ball back for the Blue Boars with a steal shortly after the kick-off before Rae restored the lead with another powerful run close to the line after the siren had sounded.

She booted Narrabri out to a 14-7 lead and then made it 21-7 four minutes into the second quarter as she finished off a play that she started with a converted try.

Rae had made a linebreak deep in her own half and passed the ball off to Kaitlyn Armitage when she was chased down by Knox. Armitage went metres from scoring herself but was also chased down by Knox, but she got an offload away to Shona McFarland, who found Rae in support for the simplest of tries.

The Pirates started to earn more possession in the back-end of the second quarter and fed three scrums, but the Blue Boars continued to keep them out before striking another blow on the stroke of half-time.

April Smith won possession with a steal and Belle Byrne got Narrabri on the front foot with a powerful run as the siren sounded. Halfback Briana Anderson then fired a pass right to Cox, who kept it going to Rae before the hat-trick hero chipped in with an assist as she released Cass Morley down the right edge as the fullback ran 70 metres to score between the sticks. Rae then added the extras to make the score 28-7 at the break.

The second half was less than three minutes old when Smith produced a moment of magic as she grubbered the ball in behind the Pirates’ defence from deep inside her own half and regathered before charging away upfield.

She was eventually caught on halfway by Knox but offloaded to Rae, who was supporting on the inside and beat Ferguson in a foot race to score between the posts.

Rae then kicked her fifth conversion of the day to make it 14 from 14 in the finals series as the score became 35-7 in Narrabri’s favour.

Pirates hit back in the 27th minute as Lauren Daye scored and converted a try, and Ferguson added five more points in the 29th minute with Tamworth’s third try to make the score 35-19 at three-quarter-time.

Knox dived over for a well-deserved try in the 38th minute, which Gavin converted, but the Blue Boars had it won at that stage and it ended 35-26 in their favour as they secured a threepeat.

Coach Andrew Gale told The Courier that he could not have been any prouder of his players.

“They all dug so deep and they all worked so hard. I couldn’t be prouder,” Gale said.

“To go through the whole season undefeated. I don’t know how to describe it. It’s unbelievable.

“I’ve never been involved in a side that’s been so strong and had so much fun at the same time.

“They worked hard and won all their games, but they always had smiles on their faces.

“I had a lot of fun this year being their coach. I gave 100 per cent to them and I think they gave me 100 per cent back.

“I never asked anything of any of the girls that I didn’t think they were capable of doing.

“Peta was just absolutely unbelievable. Her knowledge and experience was invaluable, and together, look what we achieved.”

“Pirates stuck it to us and that’s what we really wanted. It was a good game. We knew it wasn’t going to be the same Pirates side that we beat (63-12) in that semi-final,” Gale added.

“They came back at us hard late in the game, but we had enough in us to do the job.

“They only really had one move, but we were getting tired and it was working for them.

“They scored their tries out wide, whereas we scored them anywhere.

“Tomi Gavin, for them, had a blinder. She ran a lot, and she normally doesn’t run that much. It was the best I’d seen her play for a long time.

“The momentum swung a bit their way and we panicked a little bit, I think, but we got back in the groove and dug deep to win it.”