Two tries by Goulburn players, one of them an absolute game-changer, powered the inaugural South Coast Monaro women’s team to a 19-14 win over Southern Inland in the Brumbies Provincial Championship at Wagga Wagga on Saturday.
Trailing 14-0 at half-time, Goulburn’s Pearl Rakete put South Coast Monaro on the board 18 minutes into the second half off the back of a deft blindside pass from Goulburn scrum-half Jordan Brooker.
Still nine points in arrears and with just 16 minutes left on the clock, SC Monaro looked in deep trouble as the Southern Inland scrum-half took a quick tap ten metres out. Advancing to within five metres of the Goulburn line, she passed outside to her fly-half to exploit a two-player overlap for what looked an almost certain try.
If the pass connects, Southern Inland extends to an almost unassailable 14 or 16 point lead.
Instead Goulburn substitute winger Krystal Blackwell at full reach pulled in a difficult intercept before pinning her ears back and running 95 metres to score a try between the posts, and the conversion by Batemans Bay fullback Ashlea Bishop reduced the gap to 14-12.
What could have been a 16 point deficit was now only two points, but it was still a deficit.
Buoyed by Blackwell’s try, SC Monaro lifted, retained possession in Southern Inlands’ quarter and kept applying pressure. After phase upon phase of attacking raids, Southern Inlands defence eventually succumbed and Jindabyne’s Tayla Stanford crossed from a penalty tap with six minutes remaining.
The conversion by Batemans Bay’s Ashley Bishop extended SC Monaro’s lead to 19-14 and despite a contested final session of play, SC Monaro held onto that lead for the win.
The see-sawing second half was a stark contrast to the first half which was still scoreless at the 34 minute mark.
Solid runs by both sides fell victim to unforced errors in particularly windy conditions as knock-ons and soft carries routinely surrendered possession.
Nearing the end of the half, Southern Inland was camped on SC Monaro’s line for a good five minutes and dozens of phases but unable to break through, but the pressure finally yielded a result with Southern Inland’s first try six minutes before half-time.
A few minutes later, receiving the kick-off, Southern Inland returned the ball covering the length of the field with two strong runs up the right-wing, finishing with a converted try before the break.
At the half-time break, South Coast Monaro captain Ash Mewburn told her players to stay calm and composed and to trust their process. With the wind at their backs in the second half, she urged the team to be patient and the tries will come.
The second half returned to the arm-wrestle that had been present for most of the first half.
Given that most of the South Coast Monaro squad play in a 10s competition consisting of 40-minute games, it wouldn’t have been surprising to see them tire in the second half of the 80-minute game. Instead, the opposite was true.
SC Monaro scored all of the second half’s 19 points and seemed to strengthen as the game went on with the three tries and two conversions.
“I’m so proud of our South Coast Monaro team winning in our inaugural game,” Mewburn said after the match.
“We had each others backs, we got into the grind. Without a doubt it was an 80-minute match and we won the arm wrestle.
“When Southern Inlands scored first, we still kept calm and trusted the process. And the tries did come, thanks to superb ball-handling skills, tough forwards and speedy backs!”
Capping off the performance, seven Goulburn players were included in the Brumbies country-side selected from the two sides. The Brumbies Country side will play against Brumbies City South and Brumbies City North sides (chosen from the Canberra-based teams in the ACT Women’s Premier 15s and ACT Women’s 10s comp) at Rugby Park, Goulburn on September 17, with players from that match chasing spots in the ACT & Southern NSW Griffins team.
The Goulburn women chosen for the Brumbies Country squad are: Paige Penning, Hope Cohen, Pearl Rakete, Jordan Brooker, Ashley Mewburn, Elly Hazelton and Krystal Blackwell.
South Coast-Monaro 19 (P Rakete, K Blackwell, T Stanford tries, A Bishop 2 conversions) bt Southern Inlands 14 (I Merlehan, F Uoifalelahi tries, M Pearson 2 conversions).
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