Navy, Waratahs gun riding a wave of success in rugby after forgettable start
When she started playing she was so bad she got booted after one game. So how did Waratah Courtney Frankl get so good.
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Courtney Frankl was so bad at rugby when she started playing the game she was dropped from the team after just one outing.
It was a cut that sliced deep, upsetting her so much she vowed she would do everything in her power to improve.
Fast forward two years and now Frankl, who works for the Australian Navy, has been selected for her first international tour.
The able seaman, working as a Navy administrator, has been named in an Australia A squad to tour Fiji this month and play at the Oceania rugby women’s championship in Lautoka.
The squad boasts the next generation of Wallaroos with the tour designed to expose identified players to valuable international experience.
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“I’m over the moon, said Frankl, who lives in Paddington and works at HMAS Kuttabul at Potts Point after recent stints in Canberra and Melbourne for work.
“I’ve been playing since 2017 when I joined the Royal Australian Navy team,’’ she said.
“We have a team that plays every year and I got cut from the team after my first game. It was awful.
“So bad I didn’t make the second game. I was handing out the waters.
“But I really wanted to play, really wanted to do it, so I joined a local club and kept working until I got better.’’
So much better in fact that when she moved to Canberra for work Frankl earned a spot on the Brumbies women’s squad before an injury sidelined her. She then made the Melbourne Rebel’s squad for the last Super W competition.
Now based in Sydney, Frankl plays for Easts and is with the Waratahs.
“My job requires me out at sea a lot but its now more stable while I am playing rugby,’’ she said.
“This is definitely exciting. I think I’ve succeeded because I got knocked back the first time and told me I wasn’t good enough. It pushed me to have a go.’’
At the Oceania championships Frankl and her Australian teammates will take on Fiji and Papua New Guinea in Pool B with a Black Ferns Development side in Pool A with Samoa and Tonga.
While Australia and New Zealand have already qualified for the next World Cup in 2012, Fiji, PNG, Tonga and Samoa will all be battling for selection at the tournament.
“This tournament gives us an excellent opportunity to expose more players to the wider Wallaroos program and show them the standard required to play internationally,’’ Wallaroos coach Dwayne Nestor said.
“2020 is a very important year for the Wallaroos as we put together the final building blocks for the 2021 Rugby World Cup.
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“More game is crucial to growing our depth and I am looking forward to this tour bringing out more players that can compete at Test level.”
NSW Waratahs dominate the squad with Kennedy Cherrington, Fi Jones, Asoiva (Eva) Karpani, Atasi Lafai, Lillyann Mason, Arabella McKenzie, Sera Naiqama, Tasmin Sheppard and Maya Stewart also named for the Fiji tour.
Australia A Fixtures
Monday 18 November, Australia A v Tonga, 12.30pm AEDT
Friday 22 November, Australia A v Black Ferns Development, 12.30pm AEDT
Tuesday 26 November, Australia A v Samoa, 12.30pm AEDT