NSW Country have have triumphed as the queens of the Chikarovski Cup, and what made it all the sweeter is that they did it on their home turf.
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A thumping 39-7 victory over Sydney Gold at Bathurst's Ashwood Park on Sunday sealed the deal for the side, Pirates' Claudia Nielsen putting the icing on the cake with a 70m runaway.
She had throughout the game made several big runs down the wing.
The win, which was earned on the back of a supreme defensive effort, made it three from three in this year's competition for the side also featuring Moree's Ash Walker, after Saturday's 31-5 win over ACT and the previous weekend's 24-15 success against Sydney Blue.
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Panuara-born talent Grace Hamilton, among the leadership group for the Country outfit, was ecstatic to see her side claim their first cup since its inception in 2017.
"It's unreal, especially winning in the country for Country," she said.
"We said today that we had to come in with some line speed because if we let them play ball then they've got some very good skills they can put to use. I've played with a few of their backs and we knew we needed that speed to try and rattle them and put the pressure on.
"They're a quality opposition but we have some quality players of our own. Everyone was working hard for each other, especially in our forwards who are a bit more of a younger forward pack.
"We didn't have a preparation but that might have been the best thing for us. We weren't ever overshadowed by what we should do, we just went out there and played footy."
Country outside centre Piper Duck got the hosts off to a super start with a pair of tries inside the first 12 minutes.
Gold were put further on the back foot 14 minutes before half-time when a player was shown the yellow card, allowing Arabella McKenzie to push the lead out to 13-0.
Sydney spent the end of the half camped near Country's try line but thanks to great line speed and big efforts in the ruck the home side kept them out.
Country pushed their lead out to 18-0 after the break when left winger Sian Filipo finished off the best team try of the day, though Sydney kept pace with a try off their own from a kick-off error.
However, a three-try blitz from Country quickly put any hopes of a comeback to bed.
McKenzie scooped up the ball from the back of the ruck and reached out from close range to put Country up 23-7, then adding another two points with her conversion.
On the next possession Melissa Fatu knocked the Sydney defence out of her way as she scored under the posts.