Doha: The Doha Rugby Football Centre’s (RFC) two ladies teams — Oryx and Trojans — kicked off their inter-gulf rugby season by travelling to Abu Dhabi over the weekend for the first series of grueling matches against top teams within the region.
The first team, Oryx, and second team, Trojans, landed in Abu Dhabi on Friday to play a full day of four games of rugby under the scorching September heat.
The Doha teams played better rugby as the day progressed.
Oryx had a mix of returning players and one new player, Ciara O’Leary. Coach Grainne Burness and the rest of the team will use this experience as they prepare for the rest of the season. “The first tournament can often teach us the most about our team and ourselves. We take what we can from the games and try to build an even stronger and faster team going into the next tournament in Dubai on October 24,” O’Leary said.
The Trojans had six new players in the squad. “Our ladies set out for the first tournament of the year with so many newcomers this year. So we didn’t know how things would pan out. But three of the four tries scored by the Trojans were by the new players. This tells us it will be an exciting season.” Trojans representative Becky Fairley said. Under the guidance of Coach Duncan Fairley, the team’s marked improvement will be significant as it strives to climb the ranks of their division.
THE PENINSULA
