Piper Duck still remembers sitting in the living room when the Aussie Women’s Sevens squad lit up our TV screens in the Rio Olympics back in 2016.
“I remember turning to my Mum, and being like, ‘you lied to me’.
You told me women couldn’t play tackle footy. First of all, that’s not true. Second of all, what is this sport?”
Duck had no knowledge of Rugby Union even existing.
“Where I’m from, Rugby League just dominated the area, especially back then”.
And where Piper is from is Country NSW, growing up in Tumut.
Duck has had a meteoric journey to Rugby from having no knowledge of the game as little as six years ago, to now, where she is captaining the Waratahs women for the very first time at twenty-two years old.
What a remarkable rise it has been.
The young backrower had to passionately plead with her parents to even play the game when her local area created the first ever women’s side known as the ‘Tumut Bullettes’. She promptly accepted a rural and regional scholarship to Barker College shortly after.
Who would have thought that the girl with a self-described “humble country upbringing” would eventually be asked by Head Coach Campbell Aitken to lead the team? She certainly didn’t.
“I didn’t expect it at all. It was late on a Wednesday or Thursday around nine o’clock and we just finished training at the gym before I saw Campbell waving at the top of the players seating area. He kind of pulled me up and offered me the position then and there”.
The gravity of the responsibility weighted on Piper initially.
“I really did take the time to step back and consider what it really meant. I reiterate that these women are my family, and they are exceptional women and exceptional athletes. I just want to be able to be there for them in the best way possible and do my best to bring the best out of them, while doing my best to play hard in the paddock and lead by example”.
The Country star reiterates the significance of the Sky-Blue sisterhood that keeps her going.
“The bonds at the Waratahs are made up of those who have come before us and those who are to come. I love the girls I’m with and being given this opportunity of leadership is extremely nerve wracking because I hold these girls to such a high standard. The women around me have been incredibly supportive, and I really couldn’t do what I do without them”.
“The Waratahs have given me a family away from home”.
Representation and visibility are particularly important for Duck as she reflected on how she fell in love with rugby through watching the 2016 Rio Olympics on TV.
“Sharni Williams was a standout for me. She’s from Batlow, just around the corner from me so she was kind of our town Olympian.
“I remember watching her and thinking if she can do that, I can too. If she can go and do these amazing things with Rugby and see the world, why can’t I?”
Duck wants to do the same for other women as the youngest ever Waratahs Super W captain.
“Rugby is a game for all shapes and sizes, all genders, and all sexualities.
“If I can get a young girl on that paddock for the first time, I know I’ve done something. I just want to be able to do my best to support them in doing that.”
The Waratahs Women’s team open their 2023 season against the Western Force in a huge double-header at Allianz Stadium on Friday 24 March.
