Twelve months ago there weren’t many opportunities for young women to play sport in the Flinders Shire region.
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This prompted Coach Donny Mill to start up the Flinders Heat Rugby Sevens team which created a ripple effect of support in their local community.
Mill said the under 16s team had never played rugby before.
"We started teaching the basic skills then moved on from there."
"We played at the Townsville 10s comp, travelling from Hughenden to Townsville every week, roughly about 450km. It worked out to be a 17-hour-day and we did it for 12 weeks," he said.
Mill said it was worth the effort because the team went on to play in two other competitions and two players were selected to represent Broglas in the States competition.
"The highlight of the journey was gaining confidence and skills, and a love for Rugby."
"My motto is 'be you', and in that way everyone stands out."
This love for the game has continued with the entire team preparing to play again this year, and this coincides with Rugby Australia's launch of a short film which highlights Hughenden and the Flinders Shire as part of their #PartofMore campaigns.
Nine short films were released sharing the triumphs and challenges people have overcome through the power of Rugby.
Chief Executive at Rugby Australia Raelene Castle said this campaign aims to recognise and showcase the hard work of our Rugby community who are the heart and soul of the game.
‘’Following the launch of the first series in March 2018, we were overwhelmed with people writing in to share their experiences and special connection to Rugby.
‘’We made a commitment to continue to share these testimonies and this time narrowed it down to nine very different stories which shine the light on all influencers in the game including players, coaches, referees and volunteers,’’ said Castle.
The short films were completed in partnership with CHUCK Media Co. who are a Sydney based digital agency.
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