Khiarana Poini selected for City and Country under 18s

The 17-year-old from Wingham managed to get selected in both sides.

"Mid North Coast didn't have enough girls to enter a side in the State championships,'' she explained.

"So I put my name down in a players' pool and I was picked up by Randwick.''

The Galloping Greens, as Randwick's famously known, finished second in the championship and soon after Khiarana was informed she had been named in the City side.

"A couple of days later my coach rang and said I'd made the Country team as well,'' she said.

So she had a choice, although Khiarana admits it wasn't particularly difficult.

"The City girls had to train once a week and with work and everything, that would have been too hard,'' she said.

"Country had two weekend training camps. So I played for Country.''

Khiarna is the Manning River Times-Iguana Sportstar of the Week, earning a $50 voucher from Iguana.

In a show of cross code solidarity, she was nominated by Wingham Tigers Rugby League Club. She also plays with the Tigers in Mid North Coast women's rugby league .

Her decision to turn out for Country looked questionable at halftime of the game against City at Bathurst.

"We were down 13-0,'' Khiarana said.

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However, Country hit back in the second half and grabbed a 14-13 lead with around 20 minutes to go. Khiarana said Country then had to repel wave after wave of City attacking raids before snatching the memorable win.

"It was pretty tense,'' she said.

Khiarana said the whole experience was exciting and she's learnt much about the technical side of scrummaging.

Her rugby season comes to an end tomorrow when she lines up for Manning Ratz in the Lower Mid North Coast women's 10s grand final against Gloucester at Nabiac, a game the Ratz are expected to win.

However, she still has rugby league commitments and said the Tigers will probably have to win their last two competition games to ensure a spot in the MNC semi-finals. Khiarana also plays in the front row in league.

Born into a league family, Khiarana only started rugby a year ago when a friend suggested she have a run with the Ratz. However, rugby has since edged out the 13-a-side code as her sporting preference.

She enjoys the scrummaging in rugby.

"It's more aggressive in the scrums and there's more to do,'' she explained.

At the moment she can mix the two, but said if she's forced to make a choice she'll opt for rugby. She can also see a clearer pathways in rugby and hopes next year to push for selection in a junior NSW Blues squad.

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