POWER COUPLES OF THE KNIGHTS
TWO years after meeting her partner Tereina McLean at the Griffith Uni Colleges Knights rugby club’s annual Ladies Day, Sarah Weston is now the driving force behind the club’s first foray into women’s Rugby Sevens.
On Saturday the Knights will celebrate the women of the club; the mothers, partners, sisters, daughters and, for the first time, its female players as well.
Weston, 32, is team coordinator and one half of a rugby power couple with first grade prop McLean, who helps coach the team with teammate Richard Kingi, whose partner Sharna has also pulled on the boots.
“Tee and Richie, being the coaches, are really involved especially with the tackling,” Weston said.
“(McLean) loves to try give me little tips as I come off the field, especially in scrumming because that’s his thing.
“Often at training he likes to go harder at me than the others.
“When the other girls run he’ll tackle them really gently or let them knock him down but he’ll knock me flat every chance he gets! He’s so mean.
“Sharna and Richie are exactly the same – Sharna is always saying ‘step aside Richie, it’s my time!”
Weston said the family dynamic, with mothers training with their sons and daughters, had been a real highlight of joining the team.
“We have a massive range of ages where our youngest player is 18 and our oldest is 45,” Weston said.
“The kids really get involved, either playing with each other or tackling their mums and trying to take the ball off them.”
The first GCDRU women’s sevens tournament of the season will begin on Sunday but Weston said coaches had already accepted sick notes from the team.
“It’s Ladies Day on Saturday so we’ll probably be way too hungover to play this round,” Weston joked.
He’ll knock me flat every chance
SARAH WESTON