Pirates might have proven too strong for them on Saturday but Quirindi showed they have the potential to be a formidable force in the Central North women's 7s competition.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The debutants were beaten in both of their games but impressed their own and opposition coach alike.
Proud Lionesses co-coach Nick Rees said it was an amazing start from his side, most of whom had never played rugby before this season.
"The guts and determination in the girls was second to none," he said.
They were understandably a bit overwhelmed in the first game and were beaten 54-nil. The second game they went down 38-nil but were a lot more competitive.
"The second game was 100 per cent better than the first game," Rees said.
It reminded Pirates coach Aaron O'Sullivan of last year's Cinderella story - Gunnedah, O'Sullivan tipping the Lionesses to "be a formidable force by the end of the season".
"As the season moves forward they'll be so much better than they were," he said.
"We saw that last year. We played against Gunnedah to start with and we flogged them and when we got to the final they beat us."
He said is great to see Quirindi, Moree and Barraba/Gwydir, who play their first game this weekend, join the competition and remarked that the talent is just getting better and better.
READ ALSO:
Pirates experience was a decisive factor, especially at the breakdown.
"Pirates pilfered the ball really well," Rees said.
They were then able to shift the ball wide, where they were lethal.
The Lions had heading into Saturday had just the one hit against Gunnedah and were "still a bit tentative" in defence at times but did make some strong tackles and scrambled well.
Jenna Tourle was outstanding in cover defence pulling off two try-saving tackles.
She picked up the one point. Young gun Georgia Moore topped the points, Lisa Heade earning the two.
