Sevens competition’s Friday night lights to illuminate rugby’s perks for women

The competition’s southern conference kicks off at Pride Park at 5.30pm on Friday, with Orange Emus, Orange City, Bathurst Bulldogs, Cowra and Canowindra to be represented.

The minor rounds will be played over four Fridays – with finals slated for November 30 – and hosting rights will be shared across the five clubs’ home grounds.

At the same time, sides from Narromine, Dubbo Rhinos, Dubbo Roos, Mudgee and Coolah will play games in the competition’s northern conference.

Tink said the timing was planned for when there was a lull for most women's sport in the hopes of maximising participation levels.

“We had a look at women’s sport across the zone, where we thought there was stuff on and saw nothing really on Friday nights,” he said. 

While he admitted chasing teams in the off-season for a new competition was sometimes problematic, and he expected “hiccups along the way”, he said the clubs were all jumping on board, with the social aspect a big drawcard.

Each team will play two games a night while the other three outfits watch on.

Tink hoped their time on the sidelines would afford them the chance to meet and mingle with players from other sides, strengthening their ties to the rugby code.

“In the Westfund Ferguson Cup the girls did really well catching up after the game, taking photos, they were better than the men. That's something we want to build on,” Tink said. 

“Some teams might need to borrow players, but at the end of the day people will play sport when they feel comfortable and accepted.

“A lot of our rugby girls are bring along players from touch football, from league tag, from all these other sports, and that's great.”

This week the tournament kicks off with a cross-town derby as City take on Emus, while City then play Bulldogs and Emus line up against Canowindra.

In August, Bulldogs claimed the Central West Rugby Union’s inaugural Ferguson Cup crown with a 41-7 triumph over CSU Bathurst at Endeavour Oval.