Three talented players from local rugby team the Glen Innes Elks represented the Pacific Nomads at the Crescent Head 7s over the weekend.
Sarah Byrne, Ash Richardson, and Tilly Mitchell all took the field for the Nomads and put in a strong performance, narrowly missing out on a place in the Women’s Cup semi-final after a hard-fought 10-12 loss to four-time defending champions, Nelson Bay.
Both Sarah and Ash have been key members of the Nomads squad, having previously toured to Tahiti in October 2024 and Fiji in January 2025. Tilly also joined them on the Fiji tour earlier this year, gaining valuable international experience.
It was also a hugely successful day for the Nomads as a whole, with the team winning three out of the four age divisions on offer. Both our U16 boys and U16 girls teams went through the day undefeated, while our men’s team claimed the Cup title in a thrilling final.
Pacific Nomads Rugby is a country-based team with a strong focus on providing regional and rural players opportunities in rugby 7s, both domestically and internationally. We were also privileged to have Gemma Noller, a gold medallist from the Rio Olympics, coaching our women’s team for the tournament.
