What is Super W Rugby?
Welcome to the first of the W RUGBY Super W competition weekly round ups. This week covers the opening round of fixtures as well as a brief introduction to the competition itself.
The Super W has been running since 2018, with the NSW Waratahs winning all 3 championships.
Historically the Super W was made up of 5 teams: Brumbies, NSW Waratahs, QLD Reds, Melbourne Rebels and RugbyWA. This year, the competition is made up of 6 teams, with RugbyWA playing under the Western Force name whilst still working in close collaboration with the WA governing body who will continue to run operations and logistics.
Additionally a brand new outfit, the Presidents XV, will be part of the competition for the first time and mainly consist of players from NSW and Queensland, reflecting the depth of talent in these States.
The format of the Super W this year will be 2 pools of 3 teams, with each team playing 3 games versus those opponents in their opposite pool. After these 3 rounds of games, there will be a finals day in Coffs Harbour on Saturday 3rd July. This structure is unlikely to stay beyond this year with a home and away format expected to return – a move that will likely be well-received by each of the teams and regions involved who are looking to boost fan interest and grow participation in the women’s game in their local communities.
All the games will be broadcast live on Stan Sport, so be sure to tune in and enjoy what promises to be the best Super W yet, we know we will!
Super W Rugby Draw 2021
Super W Round 1 Results
Reds vs Waratahs
Two juggernauts of the Super W game going head to head in the opening fixture of the season was a mouth-watering prospect, and the game did not disappoint. A fast, high scoring and physical game finished with Waratahs running out winners.
The first half was an onslaught from the Tahs, running in 5 tries to the Red’s 1 in the opening 40 minutes which included a hat trick from Maya Stewart. Despite picking up a yellow card, she finished the game with 4 tries to her name and looked electric throughout.
The second half started much the same as the first, with the Waratahs going over for another try and for large portions of the game looked like the team to beat in the Super W. The Reds did fight back well for the rest of the game in a much more evenly matched contest, but unfortunately couldn’t close the gap established in the first half and even with a late consolation try ended up the wrong side of a 47-26 scoreline.
This was the largest ever winning margin between the two sides. The Reds did have 11 debutants in the match who will have gained invaluable top tier experience from this opening fixture, but the Waratahs look like they will take some beating if they are to face each other again in the grand final.
Brumbies vs Rebels
The second fixture in the Super W season started as a very tight contest, with both sides battling hard in the opening period of the match. The Brumbies broke the deadlock around 25 minutes in with a penalty, followed closely by a well-taken try from Zali Waihape-Andrews as a reward for a lot of time spent in the Rebels half. A second penalty from Ella Ryan made it 13-0 at the break.
After half time, the Brumbies found another gear with Siokapesi Palu crashing over to score. The moment of the match came from Palu a little later into the second half, intercepting a loose Rebels pass, bursting from her own 22 and throwing a glorious left handed pass into Talei Qalo Wilson who had an easy run-in for a try.
The Rebels did hit back with a try of their own around an hour into the game, but it proved only to be a consolation. The Brumbies finished up the game with a try off a cross field kick which made the final score 30-5 and solid first win of the season.
Force vs President’s XV
The Force started brightly, scoring 2 unconverted tries courtesy of Paihau Pomare and Katie Barnes, racing into a 10-0 lead in the opening 15 minutes. This was the first outing for the newly formed Presidents XV, and perhaps this was to blame for their slow start.
PXV didn’t ship any more points in the half though, and scored a try of their own courtesy of a clever, accurate kick from Isla Norman-Bell, gathered and finished brilliantly by Jasmin Hurriwai to make it 10-5 at half time.
It wasn’t until almost the hour-mark that we saw another score, despite the game opening up and seeing some expansive rugby. The Force extended their lead through some brilliant play from Ariana Hira, who ran great line and managed to put Moana Paul under the posts with a one-handed offload.
PXV hit back quickly, with Jemima McCalman going over in the corner after fighting off 3 defenders. She then followed this up with a 2nd try, taking a quick-tap penalty and bursting over, which was converted and put them firmly back into the game with 10 minutes to go.
Despite both teams efforts, no-one was able to get the winning points and the match ended 17-17.
