It was an historic weekend for the Yamba Buccaneers Rugby Club last Saturday with the club fielding a women’s team for the first time in the inaugural Far North Coast Rugby Union women 7’s competition.

And the team didn’t disappoint, outclassing Southern Cross University women 57 – 0 in their opening match.

The men’s team also got off to a flying start, defeating Kyogle 22 – 15 in the first match of their premiership defence.

It’s been a tough off-season for the Buccanettes, with the club only confirming they could field the team in the final two weeks before the start of the year.

But they showed that even with the short preparation they will be a force to be reckoned with, and will be looking to back up the promising start when they play Evans River Killer Whales women this weekend.

The men will face Evans River, the team they defeated in last season’s grand final, after a scrappy first up win against the Cockies.

In a match played in torrential rain, the Buccaneers were error-strewn but determined to start the year off strongly.

With four debutantes representing Yamba for the first time (including 16-year-old Josh Morris) the team got their season off to the perfect start.

Both the men and women’s teams will be at home at Yamba Oval this weekend. Women kick-off at 1.45, with the men starting at 2.30pm.

Adrian Miller