Cook Islands Rugby Union hosted a good number of girls on day one of the “She’s a Ruckstar All Girls Clinic” with ages varying from five to 15-year-olds at Raemaru Park in Arorangi yesterday.

CIRU vice president and member of the women’s steering committee Harriet Tuara said it was also encouraging to have a few junior boys joining in the mix and having fun with the oval ball alongside our girls.

“We covered our first skill block which was around Warm Up Routine. Teaching them the importance of warming up prior to playing a game or any training session and taking them through various stages of this routine including stretching and activation,” Tuara said.

“We split the group into two age groups – U10s and U14s. Unfortunately, we lacked numbers in the 16–18-year-olds. We are hoping that by day three these numbers will pick up and we’ll get to work with more girls on the island.

“We are pleased with how the event kicked off and we are all the more excited to see what tomorrow (today) brings.”

On day two (today), the organisers of the clinic will cover two important skill blocks – Principles of Attack and Principles of Defense.

These skill blocks will teach core fundamentals around the two main phases of rugby and will be delivered through varying coaching styles applicable to our differing age groups, says Tuara.

“I think it’s important to note as well, we have six females on our coaching staff board who are learning and assisting with the coaching side of rugby under the guidance of our male expert coaches, Willie Heather, Wallace Aroita and Ben Koteka.

“This is another pathway we as the Women’s Steering Committee are very passionate about growing as well for women’s rugby. Female coaches and referees are scarce and we want to change this and inspire our women through this opportunity as well.

“This is a positive start for us and we only hope to grow from here and see more girls and women enjoying the game.”