Goulburn High School teacher Ash Kara was a member of the ACT Brumbies Women’s side which unsuccessfully took on the Queensland Women’s team last Saturday in the Super W competition.
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The Brumbies started strong in the match, remaining close to Queensland until half time, but faded in the second half to finish the game at 42-5.
Despite the disparity in the scores, Kara said that the game was closer than it appeared, and that the Brumbies were not far away from playing their best football.
“That first half we were in there with a good shot, but in the second half Queensland played a lot smoother,” Kara said.
“It hurt us a little bit having our captain (Shellie Milward) yellow carded and then red carded in the second half.”
On a personal note, Kara felt that, aside from a couple of small mistakes, she played a decent match which will serve as a good loosener for the rest of the season.
“I felt like I had a pretty good game, to be honest,” she said.
“There was all those one percenters [to improve on], I think there was two missed tackles. I thought my kicking was pretty good.
“[It was my] first big match, [so] game nerves kicked in after the first couple of minutes, but after I got the first touch on the ball I was fine.”
Following the game, the women’s side were treated to a coaching session from the men’s defensive coach, Peter Ryan.
“The biggest thing we worked on as a team was getting over that game line and fighting for each metre,” Kara said.
“We had a big chat last night about being disciplined. The reds got a few run on penalties, so we talked about we need discipline.
“We [also] got a bit flustered when at one stage the stats were 60 percent possession for the reds.
“We need to become composed and get discipline to fight for that ball.”
Balancing her time between working at the high school (where she teaches maths and P.E.) and playing high-level rugby is no mean feat, but Kara credits her colleagues and even the students with keeping her balanced.
“To be honest I’ve got a fantastic support network at work,” she said.
“I have clear communication with them, when my training hours are. I’m not cutting into school time.
“The students are fantatsic. Even though we did lose against the reds … the students have been a fantastic support network for me.”
Following their unsuccessful match against Queensland, the Brumbies will take on the Waratahs this weekend at Warringah Park in Warriewood.
The match will begin from 3:00pm.
