Did you know it’s been ten whole years since Waratahs Women first hit the field? It all started with a spark in 2013 when the local women’s comp was revived as a 7s format—fast, fierce, and full of promise. By 2015, the Waratahs officially joined the comp, and the rest is history (well, history in the making!).

From game-day grit to building a legacy, the Waratahs Women have been rewriting the playbook ever since. Here’s to a decade of tackles, tries, and trailblazing—because this team’s story is just getting started.

Following is an Excerpt from A History of the Wagga Wagga Waratahs’ Rugby Club 1959-2015.

“Women’s 7: played 15; won 6; lost 8; draw 1, BP 6; points for 298; points against 279; Points 32.

Stephen Sergeant was appointed as coach. Steve knew many of the girls through his role as a secondary
teacher.

While the team members excelled in other team sports they were relatively inexperienced compared to the
Clubs who had well established rugby women’s teams. Leeton, Wagga City and Griffith had dominated the
previous finals series. Leeton were premiers in 2013 and runners-up in 2014. Waratahs suffered significant
losses against the teams that had been part of the competition since 2013; and with the exception of Albury,
had wins against Young and Tumut, who joined the competition in 2015.

From the records available, the team struggled for reserves and for most of the year played with seven
players, or less, from a squad of ten players. The following players are mentioned in the team sheets: Emily
Cox, Tahliah Footman, Amy Fowler, Bridget Horsley, Bronty Hull, Tempe Oke, Maddie Podmore, Tegan
Podmore, Bailey Porter, Holly Stephens.  

Despite the fluctuating numbers the team enjoyed several wins early in the season against Albury (46-0),
Young (44-0), Tumut (36-5); and acquitted themselves admirably against a spirited WAC team who won 29
19. Waratahs (seven players) were defeated 31-0 in the game against Leeton. The score-line was not
indicative of the effort displayed against a Club with a squad of 18 players. Waratahs rebounded and won
convincingly 46-5 against Deniliquin.  

Waratahs lost the next six rounds and won the last two. In the game against Wagga City, Waratahs fielded
eight players compared to City’s 12 players, many of whom were more experienced. The 34-10 score-line
did not reflect the skill level of the team.

Several players played consistently well throughout the season: Emily Cox, Holly Stephens, Tahliah
Footman, Amy Fowler, Bailey Porter, Madeline Podmore and Tempe Oke.
Emily Cox, Amy Fowler and Bailey Porter were the top three try scorers. Tempe Oke scored the most
conversions”.