TEAM HISTORY
Introduction - The First Team (1995 and 1996) - The Premiership Years (1997 to 1999) - Rebuilding (2000 to 2004) - Growing (2005 to 2007) - Conclusion
Formed in 1995, Old Collegians Women's XV is one of the two founding teams of the South Australian women's rugby competition. Adelaide University had been invited to form a team to compete in the Nationals that year. (That team included a number of girls from Canada as well as Jo Bathern and, later, Lito Fata. Both girls are still playing although they have moved through various teams since). On University's return from the Nationals, Old Collegians was formed and the first women's rugby season consisted of five games between these two teams, played to Under 19's rules. The last game was the grand final, a fifteen minute "demonstration match" which University won. University won all of the games that year.
1995 Peter Mehrtens was a member of the Old Collegians Rugby Club and heard about University sending a team to the Women's Nationals. He persuaded Old Collegians club that it should form a women's rugby team to compete against University locally. He was supported by Caroline Ninnes who was already a social member of the club and by Meredith Knowler. Hamish Cranna, then president of the club, convinced the club committee to embrace women's rugby. It should be remembered that rugby had not been played by women in SA before this time and this was seen by some as a dangerous innovation. In these early years there was some latent resistance to women's rugby. Teasing was common, as well as open remarks questioning the value of the team and its "appropriateness". The support of Hamish was critical and in time the commitment and success of the team earned the respect and support of the whole club. That support has been the difference between the team surviving and failing. Other teams in the competition often disband and when they have done so they have often blamed the lack of support from their club for their failure.
Peter and Meredith advertised for players in gyms and at University. The first team consisted primarily of girls who saw those notices (including Zoë Woodstock, Bec Manson, Fiona Mensforth, Jo Fell, Brenda, Tracy, Tiffany and Megan). The team trained once a week and played on Sundays. They played in a hand-me-down set of club jerseys but were otherwise not really part of the club life.
Any woman rugby player will have been asked whether or not women's rugby is played by the same rules and with the same rigour as men's rugby. The same doubt existed in the team's first training sessions. Peter Mehrtens took on the role of coach. The recollection of the girls who were in the team at that time is that the training session in those days were a little "soft". Some recall that they were only taught to "grab and hold", not to tackle. University had, however, played at the Nationals under normal senior rules and some of their girls had played before (for example, Li had played for a number of years in New Zealand). As a result, the girls who played in that first game describe it as a baptism of fire - they had not expected to tackle or be tackled. However, it was this intensity that had often attracted them to rugby in the first place and kept them coming back.
Zoë Woodtsock and Bec Manson were part of that original team and are the only founding members of the team who have played continuously since. In that first year, Bec Manson played five-eight against Li and Zoë played in the second row - which may surprise the girls who know them exclusively as a flanker and Number 8! Meredith Knowler was the team's captain that year.
The first final was always only to be a demonstration match but was cut much shorter than intended. A number of the men's finals went over time and the time available for the women's final was slowly whittled down to only 15 minutes. University won that game and were thus the first women's premiers in SA.
1996 A number of the girls from the OC's women team recruited new players during the Flinders University Orientation Week in February 1996. Sara Lasscock and Helene Dimitri joined the team through that recruitment drive. Esme Thomas and Kathryn Cherry had played touch football with Jo Fell over summer and she convinced them to join the OC women's rugby team too that year. Esme had played rugby league in Canberra. Sisters Tiana and Cara Hume also joined at the beginning of this year.
In the meantime some of the girls from the University team, including Li Fata and Jo Bathern, left and formed a new women's team at Burnside Rugby Club. Woodville RFC and Elizabeth RFC also formed women's teams, with Elizabeth drawing largely on the local air-force base for its players. The competition moved from Under 19's rules to ordinary senior rules.
Peter Mehrtens continued in his role as OC women's coach, assisted by Ben Brady. Bob Lightfoot of Suzuki in the City sponsored the team and continued to do so for many years. His sponsorship bought the girls their own jerseys. Meredith Knowler continued in her role as captain.
Old Collegians women's team still only trained once a week. Training was on Wednesday nights and games were still played on Sundays but games were not played every week. As the men played on Saturdays and trained on Tuesdays and Thursdays, the women's team was still largely estranged from the club. However, some of boys (notably Ben Suttell and Richard Czeglik) started to come out and watch games (generally hungover!).
Old Collegians Women's XV played 8 games and won 5, coming third on the ladder of five. Old Collegians Women's XV beat University in the semi final (20 - 7) to meet Burnside in the grand final. The final was then won by Burnside, 17 to 0.
The State team was selected that year by selectors watching a trial match. Esme Thomas, Kath Cherry, Fiona Mensforth, Sara Lasscock, Meredith Knowler, Caroline Ninnes and Zoë Woodstock were selected (although Bec ended up missing the competition due to a broken collarbone). The Nationals were held in Sydney. The State Coaches in 1996 were Derek Newman (the Operations Manager of the South Australian Rugby Union) and Simon Straughn, the Women's Coach at Uni. Margaret James was the Team Manager (and for every year until 2000). The girls from Adelaide played and lost three games and did not score once. They lost by 75 to New South Wales, 119 to Queensland and 12 to Western Australia.
1997 - 1999 The Premiership Years 1997 At the end of 1996, the OC girls saw that they could be a premiership side. They made a conscious commitment to improvement and this meant changing their attitude to training. They decided they wanted to train twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays like the men's teams. They felt that training up to this point had not been physically rugged or serious enough. Until this point, there had been a reluctance on the part of the coaches to do very much tackling/contact drills and (for example) they were encouraged not to train when it was cold or wet. Peter Mehrtens was not available for two training sessions each week, so Ben Brady and Ray Butler took over the coaching of the team. Ray brought old fashioned cliches to women's rugby, regularly telling the girls they should be willing to "bleed for their jersey".
More girls joined the team this year, recruited mainly through friendships with girls already on the team. They included Laura Giaretto, Jasmine Brown, Maxine Dunn, Naomi Oberscheidt, Penny Morton, Michelle Carr, Nicola Dutton, Bronwyn Gibson and Imogen Hume (cousin of Tiana and Cara). Trish Abbott also played, but more often she refereed. Sandi Jenni also joined us, defecting from Elizabeth RFC. Fiona Mensforth was the captain in 1997.
In addition to Old Collegians, University, Burnside and Elizabeth, in 1997 Brighton joined the women's competition and were a strong team from the outset. Port Adelaide, Onkaparinga and North Adelaide also attempted to field women's teams, but struggled.
The surge in talented players and the reformed attitude to playing paid off. Despite Sara and Zoë both breaking their legs this year, the Old Collegians Women's XV were undefeated in 1997. The South Australian Rugby Union Annual Report for 1997 does not record the Women's Premiership Table, but the recollection of the Old Collegians players is that they did not have a point scored against them in the minor rounds. Old Collegians Women's XV defeated Brighton 66 to 5 in the qualifying final and again the grand final 51 to 5. 1997 was Old Collegians first premiership!
That year, Fiona Mensforth won the Edna Reilly trophy for Best Women's Player in Adelaide. Sandi Jenni won the club's award for highest point scorer in the club, thanks to her phenomenal kicking.
The State team, included Sara Lasscock, Esme Thomas, Fiona Mensforth, Meredith Knowler, Kath Cherry, Zoë Woodstock, Sandi Jenni, Tiana and Cara Hume, Helen Dimitri, Laura Giaretto, Bec Manson and Jo Fell. The State Coach was Graham 'Mixer' McFarlane, the Burnside Coach, who passed away in 2002. The State team was stronger this year, finishing second in their pool. The Nationals were held in Adelaide. South Australia 5 v Victoria 12 South Australia 0 v Victoria 27 South Australia 3 v Western Australia 32 South Australia 12 v Victoria 10 South Australia 23 v Australian Services 13
1998 The South Australian Rugby Union recognized the value of women's rugby and funding was acquired for a women's development officer.
The Port Adelaide team folded, and Onkaparinga and North Adelaide eventually merged with Woodville and Burnside respectively. Accordingly, the women's competition in 1998 consisted of six teams - Old Collegians, University, Brighton, Elizabeth, Burnside/North Adelaide and Onkaparinga/Woodville ("Wonkaville"). Games started being played on Saturdays and the women's team was now truly a part of the club culture.
The Old Collegians Women's XV continued to grow. Catherine Follett, Liz Gabb and Kim Evans (who worked with one of first grade props) joined the team. However, Helene Dimitri retired during this season and we saw less and less of Bronwyn and Jasmine. Ray Butler and Ben Brady continued to coach and the team was still sponsored by the ever supportive Suzuki in the City. Meredith Knowler was again the captain.
The OC women's team remained dominant, regularly beating teams by up to 120 points. Meredith Knowler won the Edna Reilly trophy for Best Women's Player in Adelaide.
The Old Collegians Women's XV again defeated Brighton in both the Qualifying and Grand Finals (31 to 0 and 21 to 0). This was a great year at the club, with the first grade also winning the premiership against Brighton's First XV (who had won for the previous 6 years).
The State team included Esme Thomas, Meredith Knowler (captain), Zoë Woodstock, Cara Hume, Laura Giaretto, Naomi Oberscheidt, Bronwyn Gibson, Penny Morton and Nicki Dutton. The Nationals were held in Darwin. Ray Butler was the coach. South Australia 8 v Western Australia 30 South Australia 18 v Victoria 3 South Australia 10 v Australian Services 7 Sara Gardiner, who had been playing for Burnside/North Adelaide, was selected for the Australian squad.
1999 The women's competition remained relatively stable, with essentially the same six teams as 1997 - Old Collegians, University, Brighton, Elizabeth, Burnside and Onkaparinga (who shed their association with Woodville).
Ray Butler moved to Brisbane and the coaching of the team was taken over by Chris Pearl. Meredith Knowler remained as captain.
A number of new girls joined the team, including Jody Hawson, Belinda Wade (who worked with Sara Lasscock) and Ronnie May.
The Old Collegians Women's XV won the premiership again in 1999 defeating Brighton for the third year in a row (25 - 0). The team was also again undefeated throughout the season.
The State team included Kath Cherry, Maxine Dunn, Jo Fell, Tiana Hume, Esme Thomas, Meredith Knowler, Zoë Woodstock, Naomi Oberscheidt, Bec Manson and Penny Morton. South Australia were the premiers of Division II in the Nationals, held in Perth. South Australia 8 v Victoria 5 South Australia 7 v Victoria 5 South Australia 51 v Western Australia Country 0 South Australia 21 v Western Australia 20
The next few seasons at Old Collegians proved challenging due to a number of senior players retiring/leaving and difficulties in securing coaches.
2000 In 2000 the women's competition dropped to five teams, losing Elizabeth. This left Old Collegians, University, Brighton, Burnside and Onkaparinga. The women's games in 2000 were held on the same pitch, rather than as a part of the "home and away" draw followed by the men's teams.
Meredith Knowler wished to further her career in coaching and, as a number of the Old Collegians team members were not supportive of a combined coach/captain/player, Meredith left Old Collegians and joined Adelaide University RFC. She took with her Penny Morton and Jody. In addition, Nicky Dutton stopped playing to concentrate on travel/school. Laura Giaretto, Bronnie Gibson, Michelle Carr and Jasmine Brown retired. Sandi Jenni returned to Elizabeth. Kath Cherry went to Burnside, where her partner played. Sara Lasscock and Naomi Oberscheidt played only half the season, due to significant injuries. Ronnie returned to NSW.
Denzil Church coached the Old Collegians team. Unfortunately, Denzil suffered from ill-health for a lot of the rest of the year.
A number of new girls joined the team, including Emma Tachowski (whose father had played for Old Collegians in his younger days) and Kate Reynolds (whose boyfriend was playing). Esme Thomas was the captain.
Given that the team had lost thirteen players to injury, retirement and defection (seven of whom could be considered crucial senior players), it is not surprising that the 2000 season was disappointing for Old Collegians. We finished fourth (of five) on the premiership table, and were knocked out in the Elimination Final by University (25 - 10).
The State team included Imogen Hume, Tiana Hume, Bec Manson, Naomi Oberscheidt, Esme Thomas and Zoë Woodstock. The Nationals were held in Canberra. South Australia 12 v Victoria 23 South Australia 12 v Victoria 0 South Australia 0 v Victoria 5 South Australia 7 v Western Australia 12 South Australia 0 v Australia Services 5
2001 The Women's Competition in South Australia continued to shrink, despite the efforts of South Australian Rugby Union to promote women's rugby and the appointment over the last couple of years of a women's development officer. Old Collegians, Burnside and University continued to field teams. However, Onkaparinga and Brighton folded. The girls from those two teams, in addition to some defectors from Burnside (such as the wandering Li and Jo), formed a new team with Southern Suburbs RFC. The girls from Souths were immediately dominant in the competition and won all the premierships from 2001 to 2004. years. The competition was effectively only 10 a-side this year, but returned to the men's "home and away" format.
Hamish Cranna agreed to coach the Old Collegians women's team for the Elizabeth Sevens in March and continued for the rest of the season. He was assisted by Phil Crowe as "fitness trainer". Phil put the girls through a rigorous pre-season fitness campaign which included running along behind them slapping them with a pink thong (a "jandal" or "flip-flop" not a g-string). Esme Thomas was, again, the captain.
Cara Hume and Emma Tachowski stopped playing, but we were joined by Bec "Missy" Ogilvie, Beck "Bob" Derbyshire-Lloyd and Susan "Junior" Brooks (Missy was dating one of the OC boys and Bob and Junior knew her through a local cricket club). We were also joined by Simone Fogarty (who played touch football with Kim Evans) and Susan Roberts (who had previously played for Brighton).
The year was not a successful one on the pitch for the OC Women's XV but off-pitch camaraderie was high. The minor round results show Old Collegians as fourth of four! Old Collegians met Burnside in the Elimination Final. Burnside failed to field a full team of ten and could not provide a front row, as had been the case for much of the year. As a result, contrary to the competition rules for finals, the game commenced with uncontested scrums. With Old Collegians' advantage in the scrums successfully paralyzed, Burnside defeated Collegians in this game. However, the win was overturned by the South Australian Rugby Union and Burnside was deemed to have forfeited. Old Collegians went on to meet University in the Preliminary Final, but were defeated 21 - 17. Southern Suburbs then defeated University in the Final, to win their first premiership.
The difficulties with the competition led to South Australia not sending a team to Nationals that year. A team was put together to play Victoria for the Lindroth Trophy (losing to Victoria 44 - 0) but the girls from Old Collegians elected not to be involved.
2002 The same four teams from 2001 continued (Old Collegians, University, Southern Suburbs and Burnside) and continued trying to rebuild to a 15s competition. Port Adelaide attempted to enter the competition, but could not find the numbers. As Burnside had struggled to field a team in 2001, Port Adelaide and Burnside merged (to be known affectionately as "Pornside").
Ray Butler returned from Brisbane and started coaching the team again. Despite the poor results on the pitch, the Old Collegians Women's XV had remained a strong and happy group. In 2002, the team began to be known as "the Frocs". (Click here for the story of the Crocs and the Frocs)
Fiona Mensforth had by now married Ben Brady and she stopped playing in 2002 to have a family. Esme Thomas had also married (to Richie Jasko) and only played half of 2002 as she was studying and working shifts which made playing/training impossible. Susan Roberts also retired. However, we were joined by Kristie Hume (the youngest of the Hume sisters, who had been training with the team off and on for a few years but had been too young to play) and Lusia Raikiwasa (who's father had played for Old Collegians and who knew the Humes), Emily Pollack (from USA) and Candice Daniel (who's boyfriend was playing). Bec Manson was the captain in 2002. Bec also had completed her Physiotherapy qualifications and, as part of her role with the club's major sponsor, Physio Direct, began providing physio services to the club at trainings and on game days.
The Frocs continued to build slowly in strength. They finished third of four on the premiership ladder and defeated Port Adelaide/Burnside in the Semi- Final (20 - 7), losing to University in the Preliminary Final (10 - 0). Uni went on the lose the Grand Final to Southern Suburbs (3 - 22).
Sandi Jenni, who had played for Old Collegians and Elizabeth, was killed in a motorbike accident in August 2002. All the women playing in the two semifinals on 8 September 2002 wore black armbands in her honour and observed a minute of silence. (Click here for an obituary for Sandi).
South Australia did not field a state team in 2002.
2003 Burnside folded in 2003 and Port Adelaide threw their lot in with Woodville to form the fourth women's team. The same other teams from 2001 and 2002 continued (Old Collegians, University and Southern Suburbs).
Ray Butler continued to coach the Frocs, with Tiana Hume as the captain. The team was joined by Tara Naige (from touch football), Naomi Woodstock (Zoë's sister) and her friend Kelly Ornell. Sally Renfrey joined us, due to Burnside folding, and we were also joined by Elysha Skipper (an exchange student from Canada, who unfortunately only stayed for half the season). Simone left us, to travel around the country for a while and we saw no more of Esme or Fiona on the pitch this year. Emily moved to the Port Adelaide, which was closer to her home and work.
Stewie Douglas, Ryan Nielsen and James Bradley (injured first grade players) assisted in coaching and the team saw a long overdue increase in skills! The Frocs again finished third of four on the premiership ladder, however they had defeated every team at some point that season and felt they were traveling well into the finals. Unfortunately, Belinda Wade (the five-eight) was sent to the USA for her work in the week before the first final. A number of other girls suffered various injuries (including captain and scrum-half, Tiana Hume). The Frocs played the Semi-final against Port Adelaide with inexperienced players at 9 and 10. The players that stepped into those positions then left their own original positions undermined as well. Although the Frocs outnumbered Port Adelaide on the day and although Port Adelaide had not won a game that year, Port Adelaide defeated the Frocs 5 - 0. It was a dark, dark day for the girls from Old Collegians.
Southern Suburbs went on to win the Premiership for the third year in a row, defeating University again (5 - 10).
A State team was sent to the Southern States Invitational in 2003, but not to the Nationals in New South Wales. Matt Nicholls, the South Australian Rugby Union's Women's Development Officer, was the coach and Alison Caddy (from the Burnside club) was the manager. The Frocs were again represented on the State team, by Elysha Skipper, Tiana Hume, Tara Naige, Lusia Raikiwasa and Kim Evans. South Australia 17 v Victoria 22 South Australia 23 v Australian Capital Territory 12 South Australia 5 v New South Wales Country 26
2004 Burnside returned to the competition in 2004, meaning that there were now five teams - Old Collegians, Southern Suburbs, University, Port Adelaide and Burnside.
Ray Butler continued to coach the Frocs, with Imogen Hume as the captain. Kath Cherry returned to the team, as did Trish Abbott (who had played only briefly in previous years). New players also joined - including Julia Knuckey, Sam and Erin Faehrmann, Karen Stanton and Jenny Evans (an Irish girl who unfortunately only stayed for half the season). Elysha Skipper had returned to Canada. Sally Renfrey had moved to Perth. Candy Daniel and Max Moran (nee Dunn) were both pregnant, but Max managed to return to the game within a few months of giving birth and played out the rest of the season, including the finals! Tiana Hume had moved to Port Augusta for work (a three or four hour drive from Adelaide) and was also nursing her knee back to health; she was available only during the second half of the year.
The rebuilding years finally started to pay off, with the Frocs finishing second of five on the premiership ladder. They were defeated only by Southern Suburbs in this year. With the gruesome memory of the 2003 semi final against Port Adelaide in their memories, the Frocs took their rugby very seriously in 2004. They defeated University in the Semi Final (10 - 0) and drew against Southern Suburbs in overtime in the Grand Final. The Premiership was awarded to Souths as the minor premiers (click here for full match reports for these two games).
The 2004 State Team was sent to the Nationals in Sydney, with Matt Nicholls again as Coach and Jude Maddern as manager (the manager of the Southern Suburbs women's team). The team included Kristie Hume, Tara Naige, Lusia Raikiwasa, Imogen Hume, Bec Manson, Zoë Woodstock, Kate Reynolds, Belinda Wade and Kim Evans.
2005 Sadly, due to poor numbers Adelaide University was forced to withdraw from the competition in 2005, meaning that there are now only four teams - Old Collegians, Southern Suburbs, Port Adelaide and Burnside. The girls from University have mostly gone to Port Adelaide. In turn, Li Fata and Jo Bathern have moved from Southern Suburbs to Burnside. Happily, these movements will mean that the four teams are much more balanced and competitive than they have been in some years.
Ray Butler has returned from coaching and Naomi Oberscheidt has taken up the role. Zoë Woodstock has taken the helm as captain.
A number of new girls joined the team but a few old girls were 'missing in action'. Trish Abbott again had to give up playing rugby in favour of other commitments (including coaching the club's Under 8 team and fulfilling her position as secretary of the SA Junior Rugby Union). Julia Knuckey, Simone Fogarty and Elysha Skipper (who returned from Canada) were all on the injured list (all with dodgy knees...) but were expected back at some future stage. Candy Daniel returned to the game after the birth of her son. Tiana Hume was still in Port Augusta, and has reinjured her knee. Kath Cherry was concussed in the first part of the season and did not return. On the other hand, we welcomed new girls Bec Mullane (this takes the team's historical count of Rebecca Annes to four), Zoe Crittenden, Beth Nollenberger and Jenny Latte.
The ARU managed Telstra Australian Women's Invitational was held in Sydney, with eight teams; ACT, Lloyd McDermott Indigenous, NSW Country, Queensland, South Australia, Sydney White, Sydney Blue and Victoria. SA were defeated by NSW Country and the ACT but defeated Lloyd McDermott, then losing to Victoria in the final. 1. Lusia Raikiwasa (Old Collegians) 2. Melissa Dean (Port Adelaide) 3. Rachael Stevens (Port Adelaide) 4. Zoe Woodstock (Old Collegians) 5. Kelly O'Neill (Old Collegians) 6. Rebecca Manson (Old Collegians) 7. Sarah Gardener (Southern Suburbs) 8. Emma Yates (Southern Suburbs) 9. Kim Evans (Old Collegians) 10. Kellee Madden (Southern Suburbs) 11. Belinda Wade (Old Collegians) 12. Lee Fata (Burnside) 13. Kerry Telford (Port Adelaide) 14. Kate Reynolds (Old Collegians) 15. Rebecca Smith (Port Adelaide) 16. Kaara Ainslie (Northern Territory) 17. Kristie Hume (Old Collegians) 18. Ima Pepsemi (Western Australia) 19. Rebecca Derbyshire-Lloyd (Old Collegians) 20. Elizabeth Gabb (Old Collegians) 21. Naomi Woodstock (Old Collegians) 22. Abby Chitty (Port Adelaide) 23. Tara Naige (Old Collegians) 24. Emma Camilleri (Southern Suburbs) Coach: Diane Barton A.Coach: Naomi Oberscheidt Manager: Margaret James Trainer: Sara Stacey
The pre-season was wild with rumours that Adelaide University, Elizabeth and Onkaparinga Rugby Clubs would be fielding women's teams, but unfortunately it was not to be. Elizabeth nearly had enough numbers but eventually determined it would be better merging with another team to ensure sufficient numbers and has thrown in its lot with Burnside (the traditional swallower of other teams!). In short, in 2006 there are again only four teams - Old Collegians, Southern Suburbs, Port Adelaide and Burnside/Elizabeth.
The Women's Advisory Group has been formed, consisting of representatives from all women's teams. It is intended that the group will fund raise, promote women's rugby and provide feedback to the SA Rugby Union in relation to women's rugby issues. Kim Evans of Old Collegians was voted Chairperson and Kat Van Diemen of Burnside the Secretary.
Naomi Oberscheidt's career and travel intentions meant that coaching in 2006 was not feasible for her, and the role of Frocs' Coach lay vacant for some time. Some excellent fitness work was led by Eric Chmieleski in the pre-season on Tuesdays and Sundays. In the meantime, the role of coach was eventually taken up (with our undying thanks) by Ryan Neilsen and Andy Farquharson of Old Collegians' First Grade team. To accommodate these gentlemen's own training commitments , the Frocs trained on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, no longer training with the rest of the senior club on Thursdays. While we regretted the lack of club contact on the more social Thursday evenings, we are delighted to be coached by Ryan and Andy and consider it worth the sacrifice. Zoë Woodstock continued as captain.
A number of girls retired after 2005; Liz Gabb, Candy Daniels and Belinda Wade were all unavailable to play due to pregnancy! We look forward to bumper crops of juniors in 5 - 7 years! Beck Derbyshire-Lloyd returned to New Zealand and Beth Nollenberger moved to Wyoming. Zoe Crittenden decided to pursue other things and Bec Mullane transferred to Southern Suburbs. Julia Knuckey did not return from injury, and Elsyha Skipper only gave us a few games before flying back to Canada. We welcomed a number of new girls, including Nadia Blake, Deb Richardson and Emma Slater, all of whom impressed. Emma moved to Ballarat mid year, but in August we were joined by Tara Eliades and Jess Turvey, both of whom we have great hopes for in 2007.
The ARU's National Women's Championships were held in the Sydneym with eight teams competing; Sydney and Sydney A, NSW Country, Queensland, ACT & Southern NSW, Victoria, South Australia and National Indigenous. The SA results were as follows: South Australia 0 v Brisbane 72 South Australia 0 v Sydney A 54 South Australia 10 v Lloyd McDermott National Indigenous 12 Rachel Stevens (VCAPT) - Port Adelaide Vanessa Knevitt – Southern Suburbs Maryann Longstaff – Southern Suburbs Michelle Loyson - Port Adelaide Emma Yates (VCAPT) – Southern Suburbs Rachael Collett - Port Adelaide Bec Stacey - Burnside Kellee Madden – Southern Surburbs Alex Johannson – Southern Surburbs Aryn Perryman – Southern Surburbs Abby Chitty - Port Adelaide Katie Reynolds – Old Collegians Sarah Gardner (CAPT) – Southern Surburbs Lea Fry – Port Adelaide Bec Smith (VCAPT) - Port Adelaide Melissa Dean - Port Adelaide Kim Evans – Old Collegians Meagan Fowler – Port Adelaide Susan Brooks – Old Collegians Tara Naige – Old Collegians Lee Fata - Burnside Kathryn Van Diemen - Burnside Coach: Glen Millar A.Coach: Kerry Telford Manager: Sara Stacey Trainer: Sara Stacey
At the completion of the championship a 36 player Wallaroo Squad was announced, including our own Lito Fata who went on to make the 26 player Wallaroo Team who flew to Canada for the Women's World Cup in September. Lee is the first SA girl to play for Australia!
...details coming soon
2004 marked the tenth year of women's rugby in South Australia. In those ten years, OC's has consistently fielded a women's team. Adelaide University was the only other club who would make the same claim, but regrettably had to fold in 2005. Other teams over the years have included Brighton, Burnside, Elizabeth, North Adelaide, Southern Suburbs, Onkaparinga, Port Adelaide and Woodville.
Over the years Old Collegians has won premierships, recorded "cricket scores" and has been undefeated for entire seasons, but at other times it has lost half of its players and suffered humiliating defeats. Through all of these times, the girls of Old Collegians have loved their team, their club and their game. A little like a marriage, the Frocs continue "for better or for worse".
They are now an entrenched part of their club culture. Their photos, flags and trophies hang beside those of the men of the club. There is always a handful of Frocs haunting the bar. In 2005, 2006 and 2007 Old Collegians even has a Froc as its first female president, Kim Evans, with Candice Daniel as treasurer as well in 2004 and 2005.
We would like to thank everyone who has had a part in the history of the Frocs and of women's rugby in South Australia.
We look forward to the next ten years ... |
