Central West girls rugby union competition could be on agenda for 2023

Plans are in the works run a high school competition over several months in next year's winter season to help grow the game and promote greater interest in rugby union.

We got a taste of what that competition could look like during a recent contest between Scots All Saints College and Mackillop College, which was held at Saint Stanislaus' College.

The wet conditions Scots All Saints College won the game 15-5.

Scots All Saints' College sports administrator Mark Wilkinson said the muddy contest was a great spectacle.

"If you were lucky you were at home, warm, and safely out of these annoying August elements, but if you were really lucky you were at St Stanislaus' College, wrapped up in nine layers of clothing, wishing you had worn ten, and watching the U18 Girls Rugby 7s clash," he said.

"There was unbelievable athleticism, courage and teamwork by the girls on the field. There was a whole heap of admiration from the punters who stood alongside it."

Mackillop college teacher Maddison Bender said it would be great to see a new competition provide playing opportunities for students.

"It was a really close game with Scots All Saints and really competitive. We had a chat with the Stannies head of school as well and they'd be really happy to see this continue," she said.

"There's plans for next year to integrate a competition into the winter season next year and we'd like to be a part of that.

"It's got Kinross, Red Bend and James Sheehan all on board so far, and it will be held across probably six to eight weeks next year and would be centred around Stannies home games."

Bender, who helped put together and lead the school's rugby side earlier this year, has been thrilled to see the growth the group have gone through.

"There was a social comp at the start of the year that Kinross held and the principal asked if anyone would be interested in putting together a team, and I put my hand up, and we generated a lot of interest.

"We had over 30 girls willing to try a contact sport, and of that group only two had previous experience. It was great for them to build up confidence with the school program because they then feed that into local clubs because they want to play union outside of school."