Home Team 39 def. Canberra Royals Premier 15s 7
BentSpoke Premier 15s – Round 7
Away Ground – Saturday, June 7, 2025
By Canberra Royals

The Canberra Royals Women’s Premier 15s side faced a challenging afternoon on Saturday, falling 39-7 to a strong home team in a match that highlighted areas for improvement while showcasing individual moments of quality.

Despite the result not going their way, there were positive signs to take from the performance, particularly the resilient attitude shown throughout the 70 minutes and some excellent individual contributions.

The home side dominated early possession and territory, with winger Jacquiline Pele opening the scoring in the 18th minute. The hosts quickly extended their lead through prop Rosina Tupua, who crossed for back-to-back tries in the 24th and 27th minutes, though the conversion attempts were unsuccessful as they led 15-0.

The Royals responded with their best passage of play when winger Hayley Taylor-Young finished off a well-constructed move to score the team’s try. Flyhalf Janiana Ravu added the conversion to reduce the deficit to 15-7, giving the visitors hope heading into halftime.

However, the home side continued to apply pressure in the second half. Fullback Clementine Utumapu crossed in the 38th minute, with Pele successfully converting to push the score to 22-7. Substitute Losalini Gale, who had replaced Telaini Latu earlier in the match, added their fifth try in the 47th minute, again converted by Pele.

The home team completed the scoring with centre Yvonne Vuata crossing late in the match, with Gale adding the conversion to seal the 39-7 victory.

Head coach Darren Goodwin utilized his bench throughout the match, making tactical substitutions to give squad members valuable game time. The changes included substitutions saw positional changes with Brooke Osborne, Niamh Smith, Bethany Robertson featuring.

Despite the challenging result, there were standout moments for the Royals. Taylor-Young’s try demonstrated the attacking potential within the backline, while Ravu’s successful conversion highlighted her composure under pressure. The forward pack showed periods of strong set-piece work that provided a foundation for future improvement.

The coaching staff will take valuable lessons from this encounter as they continue to develop the squad through the remaining rounds of the season, with the focus on building consistency and converting opportunities into points.

MATCH DETAILS

Try Scorers:
Royals: Hayley Taylor-Young
Opposition: Jacquiline Pele, Rosina Tupua (2), Clementine Utumapu, Losalini Gale, Yvonne Vuata

Conversions:
Royals: Janiana Ravu (1/1)
Opposition: Jacquiline Pele (2), Losalini Gale (1)

Penalty Goals:
Royals: None
Opposition: None

TEAM CHANGES

Canberra Royals Premier 15s:

Tactical Substitutions:
Positional changes involving Brooke Osborne, Niamh Smith, Bethany Robertson.

Coach: Darren Goodwin
Assistant Coach: Justin Vandenbergh