Women from across Thames Valley took to the rugby field for the first time on June 30, competing for the Karly Forsyth Memorial Cup.
The first round of Thames Valley Rugby Union’s inaugural 10-a-side club of origin competition saw Ngatea take on Hauraki North, Whangamatā challenge Te Aroha, and Thames face off against Coromandel.
The wins were claimed by Hauraki North, Te Aroha, and Coromandel.
The competition was officially kicked off with an opening ceremony on June 10. Family members of former Hauraki North Diamonds player Karly Forsyth, who passed away from cancer at the age of 17, were in attendance to unveil the trophy named in her honour.
Thames Valley Rugby Union’s community rugby manager Scott Day said it was an emotional event.
“It was a mixture of laughter and tears, especially when we announced the Karly Forsyth Memorial Cup,” he said.
“We talked about how Karly’s contributions to women and girls rugby in the Thames Valley will forever live on, and that her contributions will be acknowledged through this competition.”
Scott said the development-level competition’s purpose was to celebrate and encourage women in the sport.
“The trophy will be great and well-deserved to the winner, but that’s not the aim,” he said.
“We know that there’s people of all ages, abilities, experiences wanting to play. [The] numbers are really, really positive – every squad had over 20 players, which is just phenomenal.”
RESULTS: Hauraki North 39 – Ngatea 0; Te Aroha 29 – Whangamatā 14; Coromandel 87 – Thames 0.
