The Orange City Lions have long been one of the Blowes Clothing Cup’s most dominant clubs, perennially roaring into the post-season in all four of the men’s grades.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Now, it’s the women’s turn.
For the first time in, well, as long as anyone can remember Orange City will field a team in this year’s Central West Rugby Union women’s competition, which kicks off this weekend.
The Lionesses are looking to clip the Eagles’ wings in their debut fixture, as Cowra makes the inevitably tough trip to Pride Park for round one on Saturday which, appropriately, coincides with Orange City’s ladies’ day.
Orange City’s women’s team has been a long time coming and will be made up predominantly of players new to the sport.
They’ll be coached by one of the best in the business though, the Lions’ top grade mentor Steve Hamson has taken the women’s side under his wing as well, with help from club stalwart John Young.
“We have a lot of school-aged players, we’ve had about 10 girls regularly coming to training and we’ve been training almost as long as the men,” Lionesses ace Abbey Senior, one of few with previous rugby experience, explained.
“The pre-season was tough and a lot of the girls had to learn the sport but we’re all looking forward to the weekend.
“We don’t really know what to expect, we haven’t really worked into positions properly yet we’ve just been working on the basics. Steve knows what he’s talking about though, so we’ve got a good coach.”
Senior, having played before, knows how tough the Eagles could be. Cowra has been a constant force in the women’s competition.
“They always seem to be strong, but I’m not sure if (Dutch international) Inge Visser is playing this year. I heard she wasn’t, so that would make a big difference,” Senior said.
So, can the Lionesses win a title in their debut season?
“Who knows? We just want to have fun really and learn the game and try and build numbers for future years,” Senior smiled.
Anyone interested in joining the Lionesses’ title tilt can get in touch via the club’s Facebook page – Orange City-Rugby.