The tournament will be a special one for the newly created Mid North Coast women’s side as they take to the field for the first time. 

Despite boasting teams in the under 15s and 17s girls division at the Youth Championships, this will be the first time Mid North Coast has an open women’s rugby side.

Women from Forster, Taree, Wauchope, Kempsey, Coffs Harbour, Armidale, Newcastle and Sydney have come together to form the side, holding a weekly commitment to training in Wauchope.

Assistant coach and team trainer Graham Sonter said despite the lack of experience of most players, he expects the team to be competitive. 

“We have strong expectations of a number of our women coming under the eye of the Country selectors, and we are hopeful of a strong team placing in the Championships which will further enhance our girls chances,” Mr Sonter said. 

“There is more than a lot enthusiasm in the team, and the pride shown by the girls in being selected to wear the jumper of the MNCRU has been one of the positive attributes that will go a long way for the potential success of the team.

“Girls have been travelling each Sunday since October from as far away as Newcastle and Armidale, Forster and Kempsey to meet the stringent training resume, mainly held in Wauchope, as required of a representative team,” Mr Sonter said.

The team will be headed up by Steve Lee who has had prior involvement with the Hunter women’s side in previous Country Championships. He has maintained a focus on fitness and ball handling skills for the players.

The Championships will be contested by five zones from regional NSW: Mid North Coast, Central North, Hunter, Illawarra and Central West. 

All sides will play four games across the day with a duration of 30 minutes each.

The day will conclude with the presentation of the NSW Country Championships shield to the winning zone, the announcement of the player of the carnival and the naming of the 2017 NSW Country Women’s team.