{"id":388387,"date":"2024-04-26T22:18:52","date_gmt":"2024-04-26T22:18:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=388387"},"modified":"2024-04-27T01:04:04","modified_gmt":"2024-04-27T01:04:04","slug":"shes-nuts-nsw-great-set-to-break-club-record","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=388387","title":{"rendered":"'She's nuts': NSW great set to break club record"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Wallaroos<\/a> prop \ufeffEmily Robinson runs onto the field for the Super Rugby Women's<\/a> decider at Ballymore on Sunday, she will become the NSW Waratahs<\/a>' most-capped female player of all time.<\/p>\n

But \ufeffthe golden number \u2014 33 appearances \u2014 reflects just a fraction of Robinson's decorated career in rugby union and the storied history of the Waratahs' women's program.<\/p>\n

Robinson's passion for rugby union began when she was eight years old.<\/p>\n

Watch the 2024 Super Rugby Women's grand final,<\/strong><\/em> with<\/strong><\/em> every match ad free, live and on demand on Stan Sport<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

\"Emily<\/p>\n

Describing herself as a "crazy kid who was obsessed with sport", her next-door neighbour \ufeffencouraged her to register for the Narrabeen Tigers Junior Rugby Club.<\/p>\n

"My neighbour told my parents, 'She's nuts, she \ufeffneeds to go play rugby'," Robinson tells Wide World of Sports.<\/p>\n

Robinson played until the age of 12 before she was forced to stop because there was no girls team for her to continue with and she was not permitted to join in with the boys.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Calls for major NRL change after sickening collision<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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https:\/\/twitter.com\/StanSportRugby\/status\/1783027815216185595?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw<\/a><\/p>\n

\ufeffAfter a two-year hiatus from the sport, Robinson began training with the Warringah Rats' open women's team in Sydney's Shute Shield competition \u2014 she was just 14 at the time.<\/p>\n

\ufeffFrom there, Robinson began playing for Sydney Women's in the National Women's Championship in 2011 and made her Wallaroos debut in 2016.<\/p>\n

So, with all this \ufeffexperience, why is Robinson, 30, only tallying 32 caps for the Tahs?<\/p>\n

\"Emily<\/p>\n

Between 2003\ufeff and 2017 the NSW Waratahs was split across Sydney and NSW Country in the National Women's Championship.<\/p>\n

In 2018\ufeff, the Super Rugby Women's competition, then known as the Super W, replaced its predecessor \u2014 reinstating the NSW Waratahs franchise.<\/p>\n

Under the competition's current format, \ufeffthe league's six teams play five regular-season rounds with two weekends of finals.<\/p>\n

NEW PODCAST! Michael Atkinson and Iain Payten put the game's burning questions to Rugby Australia chairman Daniel Herbert<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

https:\/\/omny.fm\/shows\/rugby-world-cup-inside-line\/daniel-herbert-interview\/embed?in_playlist=podcast&style=Cover<\/a><\/p>\n

But importantly, the Waratahs women played their first match in 1993, with the women's program continuing under the same name until 2002.<\/p>\n

This year, the Waratahs formally recognised the history of its women's program by completing an official capping procedure.<\/p>\n

At the end of the lengthy and detailed process, 206 current and former Waratahs players from the last three decades were issued a formal cap number.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, the process found that fullback\ufeff Karen Lambert had played 32 games for the Waratahs between 1994 and 2000 \u2014 the most of any women to don the iconic Cambridge blue jersey.<\/p>\n

Equaling \ufeffLambert's record in last fortnight's semi-final win over the Brumbies, Robinson's 32 matches count back to the inaugural Super W season.<\/p>\n

"\ufeffIf they counted Sydney I'd be on more than 100," Robinson says with a grin.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/C5haXqhPE9p\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp<\/a><\/p>\n

Despite only a third of her career with NSW Rugby being acknowledged, Robinson welcomed the milestones as a step in the right direction for women's rugby.<\/p>\n

"\ufeffIt's a sign of the times," she says.<\/p>\n

"\ufeffWomen's sport has not been as well documented and preserved.<\/p>\n

"\ufeffThe history is there and I think it would have been really disrespectful not to count those trailblazing women [who played before 2003]. So, I'm glad that as a club, we decided to include every woman who has ever played for the Waratahs instead of just capping from the Super W.<\/p>\n

"Moving forward, all these records will be kept and \ufeffother women will be out there to beat them. These are moments in time that we'll be able to look back on."<\/p>\n

Asked how she feels about her imminent new title\ufeff, Robinson says it is a privilege to do something you love the most of anyone else.<\/p>\n

\"Waratahs<\/p>\n

"\ufeffIt's awesome. I love the Waratahs, I've played with this club for seven years and it's my home," she says.<\/p>\n

"I give everything for the jersey, so \ufeffto get the opportunity every week to pull it on and compete with the best players in the state, it's a massive honour.<\/p>\n

"\ufeffIt's funny, people say you don't play for these personal accolades and you don't, but I'm a competitor and I want to be the best at everything, and if that's being the best at playing the most games, then that's something that I want to achieve.<\/p>\n

"The figure also shows I'm always trying to better our team and put my best foot forward."<\/p>\n

Because of the capping process, Robinson did not know she was going to claim the title until last week.<\/p>\n

Quizzed \ufeffwhere her newfound status places her within the rich history of the Waratahs, Robinson hopes to one day leave a legacy built on dedication and hard work.<\/p>\n

\"Emily<\/p>\n

"There\ufeff've been so many amazing players that have played in this jersey and I guess when [my career] is all said and done \u2014 hopefully in a couple more years \u2014 I'll probably look back and think about this time," she says.<\/p>\n

"But for now, it's about \ufeffmaking sure that the next generation understands what it means to wear the flower on your chest and represent this club that has given so much to us.<\/p>\n

"Another cool part of the capping process is that a lot of the old girls have come out and shown their support and reconnected with the club. Hopefully, moving forward, we can do more in that space."<\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/StanSportRugby\/status\/1783007546040541496?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw<\/a><\/p>\n

Since 2018, only two \ufefffranchises have taken out the Super Rugby Women's championship \u2014 the Waratahs (four titles) and the Fijian Drua (two).<\/p>\n

In Sunday's grand final, the two sides will line up once more as the Waratahs hope to make amends after the Drua beat them in the 2022 decider before ending the Tahs' campaign in the semis last year.\ufeff<\/p>\n

The grand final gets underway at 2pm AEST at \ufeffBallymore Stadium.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Wallaroos prop \ufeffEmily Robinson runs onto the field for the Super Rugby Women's decider at Ballymore on Sunday, she will become the NSW Waratahs' […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":388389,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/388387"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=388387"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/388387\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":388398,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/388387\/revisions\/388398"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/388389"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=388387"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=388387"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=388387"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}