State final has Lennox Head girls rugby team in sevens heaven

LENNOX Head Public School has created history with its girls’ rugby sevens team having competed in the PSSA knockout state final in Sydney.

The team went down by one try against Murrumburrah Public School after a 20-15 win over Singleton’s King Street Public School in its semi-final.

It is the first time a girls’ team from the school has played in a state final for rugby sevens.

“We have some talented girls who went to state for athletics and a lot of them are in the rugby team, too,” coach Lee Robb said.

“Some of them are fast and powerful, others have strong cardio, we’re lucky to have a really good mix of players.

“Rugby sevens is an expansive game, it seems to suit our girls, and they’ve learnt a lot on the run.”

The team has been assisted by Will Campbell and Jeff Watt who work locally with NSW Rugby Union.

The girls won the local round at Casuarina and went on to play at Wauchope and Port Macquarie.

“The help we’ve had from Jeff and Will has been fantastic; we couldn’t have done it without them,” Robb said.

“We’ve had out challenges, but they’ve handled it well and I’m really proud of them.

“We only had eight players for one of our games, but they just stepped up and have grown in confidence after that.”

A growing number of junior females are now playing locally at club level and school representative carnivals.

Academies have been set up at high school level, while the women’s 10s Far North Coast competition is getting more competitive each year.

“Female rugby is really starting to get some traction now,” Robb said.

“It’s all about giving them an opportunity and we try to do that with cricket and other sports at school.

“We’re also lucky to have supportive group of parents who we wouldn’t have been able to do this without their fundraising efforts.”

The Lennox Head Trojans rugby union club and Lennox Head Stags golden oldies team contributed to help the girls fly to Sydney for the final.