Women’s Rugby growing at Suburbs Rugby Club.

2022 has been a transformational year for Suburbs, with the club now boasting both a U17 Girls and Premier Reserve Women’s side, with the latter the first senior women’s team at the club in two years.  

While the club has boasted a U17 Girls side for a number of years now, the return of a senior side recreates a pathway that had been temporarily lost, giving proud Suburbs players the opportunity to continue their club rugby journey with Suburbs.  

So far this year, it’s been all smiles on the pitch, with the U17’s currently top and unbeaten of the Senior Girls competition, and the Premier Reserve side bringing together members from four different families as they retake the field once again. 

“We had a good Women’s Premier team until about two years ago, who regularly challenged the top 4 in the competition.’ said Club President Jayson McRoberts. “Through a variety the team folded, but through the hard work of Jerusha and Ti Whiley who wanted to play for us again, they managed to get this new team of the ground.” 

“It’s made up of around four families, including one family with six players, with a number of mother, daughter combos and cousins thrown in there too. The focus was to get a team back together and enjoy having a side back within the club.” 

Awarded the Canterbury Rugby Volunteer of the Year award last year, McRoberts continues that work out on the field too, coaching the U17 side.  

“This is my third year of having involvement in the team, through its iterations as a combined side with Prebbleton and now on it’s own, and it’s been exciting to be involved with a great bunch of girls who are energetic and keen to learn.” McRoberts said. 

“We’re a couple of years away from the majority of those girls moving through to a senior side, but it’s great to have the opportunity to have something in place for those girls to strive to and stay involved in Suburbs Rugby.” 

For McRoberts, this is something that he wants to ensure the club keeps building on, to ensure the club can enter their new clubrooms in the coming years as the go to club in the southwest of Christchurch. 

The Suburbs Premier Reserve Women’s side gets the opportunity to open festivities at the Canstaff Women’s Finals Day, hosting Geraldine at Ngā Puna Wai at 12pm on Saturday.