SR Women’s wrap: Charlotte Caslick debuts for Reds, Drua’s dramatic winner

Three-time Olympian Charlotte Caslick debuted for the Queensland Reds on Sunday in a heavy 36-14 loss to arch-rivals the NSW Waratahs in Brisbane. That was the start of Caslick’s 15s journey in a bid to play for Australia at this year’s Women’s Rugby World Cup in England.

Caslick was named on the bench for this round three Super Rugby Women’s showdown at the well-known Brisbane rugby venue, Ballymore Stadium. The former Australian sevens skipper was injected into the match at fullback as a replacement for Wallaroo Lori Cramer.

With one especially eye-catching 20-metre run after linking up with halfback Nat Wright down the blindside, it was a promising 28-minute debut for Caslick who will see out the rest of this season’s Super Rugby Women’s campaign with the Reds.

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As reported last week, Caslick will take no further part in the HSBC SVNS Series this season.

Reds teammates Isabella Nasser, Teagan Levi, Khali Henwood and the injured Maddison Levi will return to rugby’s shorter format for this month’s prestigious Hong Kong Sevens. Singapore will host the other regular season sevens event, before the World Championship in LA.

“It’s obviously a disappointing result to lose to New South Wales but it’s also exciting to get started playing 15s for sure,” Caslick said.

“I want to get the hang of it properly and keep progressing which is why I’ve committed to the whole season.”

Caitlin Urwin and Kahli Henwood scored first half tries for the Reds who appeared to be up for the fight against their traditional foe from south of the border. While the Tahs led 19-14 at the break, it was anyone’s game going into the second term.

But in the end, it was a one-sided loss for the Queenslanders.

Maya Stewart (double), Adiana Talakai (double), Georgina Friedrichs and Seneti Kilisimasi all got on the scoresheet as the Tahs ran away with a dominant 22-point win in enemy territory. That was the Tahs’ second win of the season after beating the Force in a thriller the week before.

Wallaroo Eva Karpani played against her former New South Wales teammates for the first time since winning a title against those players last season at Ballymore. As the forward explained, this rivalry between the two states is always a tough contest.

“I felt the rivalry from the other side for the first time. It was very physical and there was chat and giggles out there as well,” Karpani reflected.

“That was the game we definitely need to move forward to a higher level this season. It told us we have to play on our terms if we are going to play teams like New South Wales in finals.”

In the other Super Rugby Women’s match last weekend, the Fijian Drua left it late as they beat the ACT Brumbies at Lautoka’s Churchill Park. Another sevens star, Tia Hinds, debuted for the Brumbies at fullback – tasked with kicking the ball off on Saturday afternoon.

This match was tense.

The Brumbies were on the cusp of their first win of the season when the full-time hooter sounded. They led 15-14 with the game clock in the red, but the Drua continued to give it absolutely everything with the try line within reach.

Replacement loosehead prop Salanieta Nabuli was the hero for the Drua, with the front rower crossing under the sticks to help the hosts win 21-15. As you can imagine, the crowd went berserk once the try was awarded.

“She could see the chalk, she got over it and somehow got it down to the delight of this crowd,” commentator Greg Clark said.

With the Western Force on a bye, the ladder looks quite familiar. Defending champions the Tahs occupy first-place on the ladder after three rounds with a 2-1 record, while the Drua sit one competition point behind them in second.

Queensland are third with a 1-1 record, the Force in fourth, and the winless Brumbies are currently just outside of a finals spot. This makes for some interesting matchups next week with the Brumbies playing the Reds in Canberra, and the Force hosting the Drua out west.

Super Rugby Women’s Round Three results

Fijian Drua 21 defeated the ACT Brumbies 15

Queensland Reds 14 were beaten by NSW Waratahs 36