Last week Aussie 7s stars Shannon Parry, Demi Hayes and Kate Newton were in town to host a training clinic for young females alongside the NSW Waratahs, who are looking to build the female competition next year. 

Development Officer for the NSW Waratahs, Gus McDonald said they have been working with the High School for the last few years with amazing results and were hoping to connect that through to the club. 

McDonald said they are currently on the Get Talkin’ tour with mental health organisation Batyr, who also hosted a yoga session and activities at the high school to help break the stigma of mental health in young people, especially in rural areas. 

“We thought what a great opportunity to get the Aussie girls out and they were keen to jump on it,” McDonald said.

On hand were Waratahs’ development players Alahna Ryan from Nyngan, Lillian Mason-Spice from Forbes and Narromine’s Lakeisha Hull to help with the training clinic. 

So far Nyngan High School has boasted one of its biggest uptakes of female participants in Rugby 7s and is continuing to grow through their participation in the NSW Waratahs development program. 

“The talent out here is phenomenal,” McDonald said.

“We’ve been training the school for a couple of terms … Alahna’s now in our development program through UNE with the cubs, so it’s all really just grown.”

“What’s so good for us to see is that [he girls] develop all these skills playing for us, playing touch and even just kicking a footy around on the ovals, and there’s not that much difference in the games … so it’s exciting that we’re not starting from scratch, we come out and the girls just pick it up.”

“In the high school today we were just playing touch and Michael Howell, the Waratahs Newcastle development officer, was just blown away by the natural skills and ability of the girls.”

In 2019 McDonald said they are trying to get a Western Plains competition up and going, however will look at splitting the central west and pushing to get a Bulls side. 

“The Bulls have been really supportive through the Bullets, the school side,” McDonald said. 

“They’ve been fantastic sponsoring them and supporting them to go away to events,” he said. 

McDonald is encouraging anyone to “have a crack”. 

“Jump in, it’s fun, rugby is definitely a sport for everyone … the 15s have always said its a game for all shapes and sizes and it definitely is,” he said.