NAROOMA’S Remi Wilton was recently selected as scrum half in the ACT Brumbies Women's XV team to play at the Nationals on June 24-26 at St Ignatius College, Lane Cove.
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Remi travelled from Narooma to Canberra twice a week for a few weeks to train with the representative squad. As the team were from all over ACT and the Southern Region, the players travelled far and wide to attend.
The three day tournament strengthened the depth of Women’s XVs Rugby in Australia leading into the 2017 Women’s Rugby World Cup, with the ARU committing to host the tournament annually.
The tournament kicked off on Wednesday, June 24 and ran through to Friday June 26 at St Ignatius College, Riverview, Sydney and eight teams fought it out to become National Champions.
The teams included: Sydney, Western Australia, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland, Australian Capital Territory, NSW Country and Australian Services (ASRU).
The Nationals competition started on Wednesday and each team played two pool games on day 1. The Brumbies played their first game against NSW Country. It was a physical match with the Brumbies taking it to the opposition quickly to set the pace of the game. They played outstanding rugby; both in attack and defence throughout the game and defeated NSW Country 17-0. The second match of the day was against Australian Services Rugby Union (ASRU) - a team made of enlisted Defence Force members. The Brumbies again went out hard and defended everything that came their way with precision. Their attacking game was again flawless and it showed on the scoreboard, taking a convincing 26-0 victory.
On day 2 of the competition the Brumbies players were a little bruised and battered but keen to continue on their winning streak. Coach Russell Ingram was ecstatic about the Brumbies performance so far and the fact that they hadn't conceded any points against them - an outstanding achievement.
Game 3 of the carnival for the Brumbies was against the strong Queensland outfit. Queensland were pitted as the favourites, but the Brumbies had a point to prove. A victory in this game would most probably secure a finals showdown for first and second place and ultimately decide the National Champions. The Brumbies went out hard and the forwards really put their bodies on the line in each and every hit up. The team gelled well and looked like they had been together for much longer than their three weeks.
Queensland were a bigger team - probably at least 120kg additional to the Brumbies pack. In a physical match, the Brumbies scored early points and relished in the confidence, going on to score again in the second half and take the victory 10-0 to a surprised Queensland team. The Brumbies women hadn't beaten Queensland in 15 years - so this was cause to celebrate. Unfortunately, during this match, the Brumbies winger suffered an ACL injury ruling her out for the remainder of the games - a big loss.
These three solid performances meant that on Friday - finals day, the ACT Brumbies had secured a showdown with Sydney; which would decide the National Champions. The game started hard and fast, with Sydney really firing on all cylinders. Their attack, ball skills and set plays were well drilled and precise. The sledging was loud and aimed at putting ACT off their game, and it seemed to work - Sydney secured the first points on the board from a converted penalty kick. The Brumbies were solid in defence, but another penalty led to Sydney gaining good field position and scoring a try that took the score to 10-0 nearing half time. The tables quickly turned and Brumbies gained a penalty and converted the three points just before the half time siren which took the score to 10-3. The teams both started the second half looking a little fatigued, but Sydney capitalised first and then continued the momentum. Despite all the Brumbies players giving it everything they had, Sydney were too strong and scored another 13 unanswered points to take the match and the Championship 23-3.
It was a great Championship and excellent exposure to top level competition for all those involved.