Women?s rugby Gala Day this Saturday at Te Whaea

As part of the third week of round two Victoria Tavern Trophy (pictured above) women’s matches this Saturday, Wellington Rugby is holding a Women’s Gala Day.

All six teams are slated for afternoon games at Newtown’s Te Whaea artificial turf in consecutive matches at 12.00 pm, 2.00 pm and 4.00 pm; giving Wellington Pride selectors a chance to view all three women’s games and giving supporters 240 minutes of the best female rugby in Wellington including some schoolgirl standouts.

Rosie Stirling will be a Hutt Valley High School-leaver this year. A first five-eighth at college level with a big tackle, Rosie is getting some lessons as a loose forward from 2012 Wellington Women’s Player of the Year Kiri Mei and Black Fern lock Jackie Patea when she pulls on the number seven shirt for Wainuiomata this season. ?

St. Catherine’s captain Joanah Ngan-Woo plays lock for the Oriental-Rongotai women, and apprenticed there with the Wellington Pride last season, but when she plays in the midfield for St. Catherine’s there’s occasionally confusion on the sideline about whether “Joanah” is her given name or a nickname.

Joanah is joined at Ories? by St. Catherine’s teammates Alicia Print and Rachael Tuma’ai, all three girls part of a young Ories? squad that has been taking some scalps in the past few seasons but have yet to find the consistency and intensity across 80 minutes that will make them serious Victoria Tavern Trophy contenders. ?

Having finished the Fleurs round in second place to Northern United, there could be a big push to the final from the Eastern Suburbs girls this year.? Sparked by pivot and sevens player Lizzie Goulden, Ories have posted 115 points in their first two games this round, they will struggle to keep this pace against a physical Norths side, particularly with lock Sanita Levave returned from a Black Ferns camp and Kiwi Fern Brenda Collins playing a high work-rate, collision-oriented game this year from the side of the scrum.

Lock Patea and prop Melodie Bosman, new to Norths this year from Christchurch, have this week been selected in the Black Ferns team to play England in three Tests in July.

Last year’s competition winners Wainuiomata have struggled to find form this year; after beating 2010 champions and 2011 finalists Norths 13-8 at the Petone Rec last season to lift the silverware for the first time ever, they have been inconsistent after first-round losses to Ories and Norths.? Untested against newcomers Avalon, Wainuiomata have posted wins against Old Boys University and Poneke-Marist St Pat’s but will be in tough this half to reproduce their Victoria Tavern round form from last season. ?

Maryann Collins is a reliably physical threat in the midfield for Wainuiomata when she’s in the lineup, but commitments with Manu Sina this year and the semi-retirement of Wainuiomata’s Jean Oti have left the green and black lacking the midfield punch of last season.? After two wins over OBU sandwiched a smashing by Norths, however, Wainui may find a 4.00 pm game on the artificial turf against combined Poneke-MSP, winless through the Fleurs round, is just what they need to get the attack firing. ?

Following the withdrawal of 2011 champions Eketahuna to the Manawatu competition, a sixth side was added to the draw as cross-Parade rivals Marist St. Pat’s and Poneke admirably put aside their differences and entered a combined team in 2013.? Alternating jerseys and training space, the team is a collaboration of MSP and Poneke coaching and management, and are no doubt hoping to strike a similar balance between youth and experience, with the Norm Broughton-coached Wellington East Girls’ establishing itself as a feeder program to the Evans Bay co-side.? Poneke’s Girls in Rugby days have been popular with the youngest set in jerseys and pigtails; it will be good to see this joint program acquire the momentum needed for the senior club athletes to pull on their own colours and have a good crack at each other, as well as the other clubs around the league. ?

Old Boys University has suffered the retirement from fifteens rugby of 100-game hooker/halfback Claire “Shorty” Rowat: after three first-round losses and a couple of wins over Ories? and Poneke-MSP, however, there might be enough in it for this to be as short-lived a retirement as Marama Tauroa’s at Wainuiomata.? OBU look this season to the crash and bang phase play of Lillian Mapu and Sharlene Fagalilo while hooker Hiria McCrae is having a strong season as well, and Georgia Daals will be looking to stake a claim to a black and yellow jersey this year.

Avalon colours return to the Women’s Premier competition this year, boosted by a large number of girls who wore Stokes Valley’s red and yellow last season.? They have put up some impressive numbers, including a razor-edge 24-25 loss to Ories first round and a 41-30 win over OBU, but struggle to find consistency on a Saturday.? Their game against OBU this weekend will be an interesting one to watch and could go either way.

The youth movement at Oriental-Rongotai will look to prove itself against Fleurs winners Northern United this Saturday, and a Norths-Ories matchup will kick off the ladies’ grade Gala Day at Te Whaea at noon.? OBU versus Avalon may answer some questions for selectors at 2.00 pm, and Wainuiomata will look to continue to make life hard for PK-MSP, kick off at 4.00 pm.

For more information please visit the Draws & Results section across the top of this page and use the select competitions toolbar view the Victoria Tavern Trophy.