The NSW Waratahs Women have delivered a dominant performance to defeat the ACT Brumbies 41-7 win at Campbelltown Harlequins Rugby Club.
The Waratahs came out of the gates strongly, with Captain Piper Duck crossing over within the first five minutes, storming through nearly untouched.
ACT would then return fire off the back of numerous Waratahs penalties. Through some hard running, the Brumbies were able to cross for their first and only points of the day.
The visitors succumbed to the pressure shortly after, with Desiree Miller chasing and regathering her own kick to retake the lead for the Waratahs.
Flyhalf Arabella McKenzie converted from adjacent to the uprights to give NSW a 12-7 advantage.
Ten minutes later, Rosie Ferguson charged down and a Brumbies kick before recollecting and passing it off to Leilani Nathan who dived over the line to give the Tahs a half-time lead of 17-7.
The Waratahs would prove too strong in the second half putting on 24 unanswered points over their rivals.
With the forward pack dominating at scrum-time, the Waratahs were able to camp in the Brumbies half for the majority of the final 40 minutes and used that as a platform to cross for further tries.
Youngster Ruby Anderson was the first over the line in the second half, followed shortly by Wallaroo Player of the Year Eva Karpani, to extend the scoreline to 27-7 .
Ten minutes later, 16-year-old Waiaria Ellis scored a terrific solo try, breaking the initial defensive line and then stepping the fullback to put her team up by 27 with five minutes to go.
The women in blue were not done there, with Vice-Captain Georgina Friedrichs crashing over in the corner off the back of some excellent hands from the forwards.
Miller was able to convert the final try giving the home side a well-deserved 41-7 victory.
Head Coach Mike Ruthven was proud of the girl’s performance and effort but believes there is still some work to do before the Super Rugby W season kicks off.
"Result-wise it was great, but our performance was still scratchy," Ruthven said. "It was a pleasing result but there's plenty of work still to do.
“Atasi (Lafai) put in another solid 80-minute performance, and it was good to see Waiaria come on and have a bit of spark and injection into the game.
“Effort is never an issue for this footy team."
Tries: Piper Duck, Desiree Miller, Leilani Nathan, Ruby Anderson, Eva Karpani, Waiaria Ellis, Georgina Friedrichs
Conversions: Arabella McKenzie 1/4, Desiree 2/3
Penalties: 0
Tries: Lydia Kavoa
Conversions: Faitala Moleka 1/1
Penalties: 0
