South Australia - Semi Finalists in Darwin 7s
Congratulations to the SA Warriors, SA’s Women’s State Representative team, who made it to the semi-finals in the Hottest 7s in Darwin on 24 and 25 January 2009.

The competition included 7 teams and the Warriors finished a clear 4th with strong wins against Darwin and the Defence Forces, but struggled against the top three seeded teams which were comprised of representatives of the Australian and New Zealand sevens squads. It is the first time SA has fielded a women’s state team since 2006.

The team was: Alyce Brewis (Old Collegians), Abby Chitty (Port Adelaide), Elena Casciano (Old Collegians), Hannah Cavallin (Old Collegians), Kim Evans (Old Collegians), Lee Fata (C) (Burnside), Lianne Fisher (Port Adelaide), Leandrea Fry (Port Adelaide), Bec Manson (Old Collegians), Amanda Kennedy (Southern Suburbs), Tara Naige (Old Collegians) and Aryn Perryman (Southern Suburbs). Coach: Kathryn Cherry, Physio: Bec Manson, Manager: Kim Evans, Strapper: Andy Finn

The girls played 7 games; 6 round games and a semi final. While it was difficult to be competitive in the largely international representative environment, it was great for the girls to be exposed to that calibre of women’s rugby. Many of the girls got a real kick out of just being able to say that they’d “played against Australia” – the team that went on to win the Sevens World Cup! They saw some skills, routines and discipline that gave them all a glimpse of what they could be doing better and also what they are a part of in terms of the big picture of women’s rugby. It was also inspiring to play under lights in a “proper” stadium in such a corporate and carnival environment – they played in the same comp as Sarevi and Andrew Walker!!!

They managed to gain a reputation within the women’s comp as being a very physical team. A rumour was going around that Lito Fata is Jonah Lomu’s sister, which gained a few laughs.

The girls were enthusiastic and well behaved throughout the tour. They have come away from the experience with a rock solid camaraderie and a real energy for Season 2009. They are all keen to do it again next year.

Queensland Red Stingers 45 v SA 0
Queensland Easts Tigers 54 v SA 0
Territory Dreamgirls 12 v SA 0
Darwin Bunnies 0 v SA 27
1^st Brigade ADF 0 v SA 15
Semi – Sydney Zonnators 46 v SA 0

Watch our videos of the SA girls tackling Easts Tigers and Lee Fata scoring a try against the ADF team! More videos are available on www.youtube.com/thefrocs