Tempest whips up storm of interest in sevens
RUGBY SEVENS FAR North Tempest coach Russell Todd hopes his side’s strong performance at the Queensland Under-17 Championships will encourage more young women to play the game when the inaugural girls rugby sevens launches in month.
The 11-player representative team finished sixth of eight teams but were competitive in every match at the weekend, beating Townsville on the final day of the tournament. competition Cairns next
Todd said the tournament showed just how good the Tempest could be, with his players still getting used to the technical aspects of the game.
“The Darling Downs coach said we reminded him of their squad last year,” Todd said.
“They’ve gone from sixth to second. So we feel if we’re playing regular rugby we can do something similar.
“We’ve got our small club competition starting this year. It’ll be a six-week competition with finals. Next year we can hopefully play through the winter to mirror the other girls’ competitions around the state.”
Captain Becka Marsters, Indianna Tillett and Taesha Ahwang were standouts, despite having little experience playing the sport.
“All the teams we played were good,” Todd said.
The regional competition kicks off on November 2, with matches to be played at Jones Park.
Interested players are welcome to register.
“We’ve got three competitions, our under-14s, 16s and 18s,” Todd said. “So far Wanderers, Penrhyn Sharks, (Northern Beaches) Mudcrabs and Barron Trinity Bulls have put in teams.”
Finals are on December 7. still