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Lightning strike

Bond Bull Sharks at Loughborough
Lani Ahsam, Charlize Ratu, Georgia Grey, Gabrielle Rivers at Loughborough University. 

They’ll be talking about Bond University’s women's rugby in the English midlands for years to come.

Three games of 7s with scores 34-5, 30-0 and 15-5, all to the Bull Sharks against the highly touted Loughborough University, has taken care of that.

In Australia it is well known that the Bull Sharks, who own every trophy available in womens' rugby, are at the top of the tree. 

But in the UK, Loughborough University are a big deal.

The university is home to professional English premiership side the Loughborough Lightning which is captained by England Red Roses captain Sarah Hunter. The squad boasts several other English representative players and US, Canadian, Welsh and Scottish Internationals.

Their 7s side is coached by England legend Abbie Brown. 

The place pumps out elite rugby players, and the Bull Sharks pumped them.

Coach Lawrence Faifua had great expectations for his side. Yes, he wanted the girls to get the experience of a lifetime, but he also planned to use the tour to finetune his defence of the 7s titles they won last year. 

He was here to win.

But even he was unsure how quickly they would hit their straps after the long-haul flight to the UK.

“I wasn’t at all surprised at how well they played because I know what they are capable of,” he said.

“The unknown was how they would perform after the travel.

“But they did a great job as soon as we landed to recover from the flight and get themselves ready for these games.

“When I saw that I knew it was just going to be a test of who had the best footballers and I had full confidence in our girls.’’

 

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