The Aurelia Metals sponsored Cobar and District Rugby Union Club’s Bactrians are fit, ready and poised to challenge the best women’s rugby tackle teams the Central West has to offer!
The team heads to Endeavor Park, Orange this Saturday to contest the Orange Emus Tens Tournament.
With limited experience, the Bactrian girls will rely on their depth of unbridled enthusiasm, fearlessness, athleticism and some good old-fashioned headbanging to proudly fly the flag for Cobar against anticipated strong opposition.
The Club did not field a men’s side in the Western Plains Zone competition in 2025 so decided to concentrate on expanding the culture and scope of the Club by promotion of a competitive girls’ tackle side.
Guided by the performances of the Wallaroos at the recent Women’s World Cup and a desire to keep the game of rugby union alive in Cobar, the Bactrians have continued to train throughout the year.
And without any real support from the Zone which provided just two gala days for the whole season for the tackle girls at Gulargambone and Warren, the Bactrians have molded themselves into a numerically strong unit and a bastion of self-motivation.
Camel three hundred gamer, Greg ‘Blacky’ Black coached the girls in the early days this year declaring they were a joy to “teach”.
It was a massive learning curve for many of the girls because many had never seen a rugby match.
But they listened and they learned.
He introduced them to all the joys of rugby union from the intricacies of a forward pass to the beast of the rugby union set piece, a senseless collection of eight humans packed together to form an abomination called a scrum.
Blacky selfishly moved to Port Macquarie, but the Bactrians were fortunate in that two Irish backpacker barpersons at the Great Western Hotel, one of whom was a rugby player, Shane Leahy, the other, Dave Curtin, a basketballer with a wicked sense of humour, willingly took over Blacky’s role.
Dave kept the girls amused as Shane carefully and deliberately worked on continuing to entrench the basics of rugby union within the team.
Cobar organised and hosted a Gala Day in September which attracted 20 local girls and a couple from Nyngan and Bourke.
The success of our own Gala Day can be measured by the impact of Development Officer Sarah Pearce’s coaching on the day and the benefit derived by the players who attended, not by the indifference and absence of other teams.
After all, the Cobar Bactrians are heading to the big smoke and the Orange Emus Tens Tournament, a well-earned reward for willingness to learn and train.
It would be remiss however to not acknowledge the “glue” of the Bactrian resurgence, Jayde George, or the support she has received from her sisters in rugby, Sam Ward, Toea Wisil and Jazz Beddows.—contributed
