End of Season and Summer Update
Sydney Women’s Sevens
With one round to go in the Sydney Women’s Sevens competition this coming Sunday, The Burra Rays look set to end their inaugural winter season as the champions of both the division one and division two competitions despite a wet-weather interrupted season like no other.
Rays Division 1- Premier Team
The Rays premier team has so far been undefeated across the season, despite being pushed all the way by rivals Manly and Sydney Uni on numerous occasions. This team is a well-drilled, physical outfit that competes hard across the full match and are using this winter competition as a springboard into numerous high-profile tournaments across the summer. Particularly impressive have been newcomers Lily Murdoch, Liana Rose and Alice Gregory, who have found a home in the new-look Rays backline offering plenty of class on either side of the ball to compliment an aggressive forward pack.
The girls will enjoy a short break post-season, before turning their attention to The Southern Highlands 7s in September, the Sawtell 7s in October and the Dubai 7s in November/December. The Dubai 7s is the largest club competition in the world, with the Rays invited to attend as Australia’s only club team- a proud achievement for all of us.
Rays Division 2- Development Team
The Rays development team have also had a wonderful season, leading their respective division 2 competition. The girls have had a couple of key losses in cup finals across the season, however their consistency and positive results from round 1 through to 7 has ensured they are leading the points race to the championship. Yesterday, after a loss to Eastern Suburbs in the pool stages, the team rallied and comprehensively won the semi-final and final over both Gordon & Northern Suburbs respectively. This result ensures the Rays will win the division 2 competition this weekend as long as they compete in the tournament.
Rays 3- Division 2
The Rays division 3 team commenced the year undefeated, however moved up into a higher division mid-season, which for the age of this group is a feat in itself. Had they chosen to stay in division 3, we could well be looking at 3x premierships for our club at the conclusion of the season, but the decision to move higher was justified with strong performances and wins against highly fancied opposition in both last rounds. There are some wonderful players in this team with big futures in the game and we are looking forward to seeing them develop.
Photo credit: JB Photography
Burra Rays 10-a-side
The Rays have also been active members in the Sydney Womens 10-a-side competition, played to encourage the transition from 7s to 15-a-side rugby. The girls have achieved great success in these tournaments and currently remain undefeated across the 10s competition. Head Coach Luke Smart has done a wonderful job with these girls, teaching them a much different style of rugby and making it an enjoyable, productive learning environment. Well done to all the girls representing us in the 10s competition.
Representative Honours
Bridget Clark: Aussie 7s Debut and Squad Inclusion
We are very proud to see Bridget debut for Australia in the recent Oceania competition in NZ with the Aussie Women’s 7s team. Further, her inclusion as a training squad member ahead of the Commonwealth Games and Rugby World Cup 7s is a huge testament to her and the hard work she puts in. We are all very proud to see her achieving her goals at such a high level and are committed to providing her a club training environment that can continue to provide for her.
Chloe Saunders & Alice Gregory: Australia A
Both Chloe and Alice have been topping up their club sessions with weekly high-intensity training sessions within the Australia A program, The girls are regularly flying up the coast to participate in scheduled matches and training sessions around their club commitments. Both Chloe and Alice are huge parts of our club and we are sure the next step for both of them is just around the corner.
Chloe Saunders (left) and Bridget Clark (right)
Photo credit: JB Photography
Ella Koster & Caitlyn Halse: Australian Schoolgirls
In July both Ella Koster and Caitlyn Halse were rewarded for their excellent seasons with selection in the Australian Schoolgirls 7s team. This is a huge achievement for the girls and also the club, highlighting the development pathway from the Rays through to national honours. We are very proud of both girls and wish them well for their upcoming matches. Ella and Caitlyn were joined in the all-schools carnival by NSW reps Shaye Shipton, Manilita Takapautolo and Lailani and Sienna Montgomery.
Tours
Samoa 7s: September 5 – September 11 2022
We recently were offered a position in the Samoa 7s competition by Rugby Australia through their partnership with PacificAus Sports. This is again a testament to our clubs growing reputation amongst the 7s community, as the Rays are the only Australian club team selected to attend. Despite the short notice, we of course jumped at the chance to compete. Not only does this provide the experience of a lifetime for girls, but the Rays have a heavy ‘Pacifica’ representation throughout our playing group and to represent this culture in the rugby-mad nation of Samoa will be a proud moment for the club.
Those selected to compete in the Samoa Independence 7s will be revealed shortly.
Dubai Invitational: 29 November – 5 December 2022
This is the premier club tournament in the world and we will be sending our top team to compete in Dubai in the hope of representing our club, sponsors and community in the best way possible. The Dubai 7s hosts over 90 teams across the weekend and is fully sanctioned by World Rugby. The Rays community will be able to broadcast / live-stream the tournament from Australia across the three days and we are very hopeful of coming home with a strong result. We will be selecting our premier team for Dubai, with a rigorous 3-day per week schedule and fitness milestones forming part of an 8-week comprehensive training block in the lead-in to the tournament.
A training squad will be announced shortly, which will eventually be trimmed to 12 players that travel to Dubai to compete.
Photo credit: JB Photography
Additional Summer Competitions:
Further to the two internationals, the club has entered the Southern Highlands 7s, the Sawtell 7s, the Mudgee 7s and will have a number of junior players competing in the Junior State Cup for their respective districts. We are committed to continuing to provide travelling opportunities to our players. Unfortunately with over 60 registered players, we can only travel abroad with 24 this year, but the girls have been encouraged to keep committed and working hard for additional, similar opportunities across 2023 and 2024.
Sponsor Spotlight:
Tears of Joy Weddings is one of the major sponsors of the club, featuring proudly across our left sleeve on all playing kit. Leanne McKay, the founder of the organisation is also a part of the Rays extended family, with her granddaughter Ella Koster a key member of our club.
In addition to the financial support she provides to assist us in providing these experiences to our playing group, Leanne also commits to covering all match-day food for the entire group. A sponsorship such as this is so helpful when trying to keep the girls energised and aids recovery across the day. Sevens is a brutal sport and the ability to eat performance-based foods between matches has helped us tremendously across the season. We cannot thank Leanne and the team at Tears of Joy Weddings enough for the support.
Should you need a celebrant for an upcoming wedding, please be sure to speak to get in contact with Leanne, she is very highly regarded!
