Briars Women’s Rugby spent the last week in Solomon Islands working alongside the National Women’s and Men’s teams in a high performance camp which culminated in a series win 2-1 in a friendly tournament at Town Ground, Honiara on Saturday 12 October.
The tour came at short notice with NSW Rugby and The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) inviting Briars to travel at no cost to Solomon Islands courtesy of a generous federal grant to support the growth of women’s rugby in Solomon Islands. Briars jumped at the opportunity to support the program and organised a squad of 12 players, coach, manager and chaperone that would provide a good level of competition for the developing Solomon Islands team.
The tour coincided with the Australian Defence Force Sports program that is focused on upskilling coaches and referees in developing nations. The team worked with the newly accredited coaches as part of the program to practice their skills, plus the newly appointed referees officiated the friendly games on the Saturday. ADF Sports also organised a local school visit which saw our team coach hundreds of local kids in rugby skills.
Joining the team on the tour was NSW Women’s Rugby chair, Kerry Chikarovski, on her first ever rugby tour as part of a team. Kerry integrated into the team seamlessly and was an important role model for the young female athletes on tour. Many stories were shared, and as part of a tour team we all abided by the old rule of “what happens on tour, stays on tour”.
The team also engaged with the Australian High Commission in Honiara, joining their monthly networking event on the Friday night and dinner with ADF Sports and Solomon Islands Rugby after the tournament on Saturday night where Kerry Chikaroski presented some gifts of appreciation to the acting High Commissioner.
The last full day in Solomon Islands was a rest day, with the team up early to venture out to the Florida Islands area of Solomon Islands and the famous Roderick Bay with a beached cruise ship. The day was spent snorkelling, drinking coconuts and interacting with the sealife whilst enjoying the beautiful environment of Solomon Islands.
A big thankyou to all involved in making the trip possible and the ongoing support of women’s rugby to compete at the highest level as part of the Briars Sports family.
