Outgoing NSW Country women's coach Paddy Bowen only expects to see more country talent filtering into elite programs as the recognition of the talent in the bush grows.
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In the four years that he has been in charge of the program Bowen has seen an increasing number of players recruited by premier rugby and Super W clubs.
Just from the Corellas squad that contested the Australian Rugby Shield in Adelaide last October, four suited up for Super W sides in trials on Saturday - Pirates' Erika Maslen, and Kate Holland with the Brumbies in Wagga Wagga and Maslen's Pirates team-mate Rosie Ferguson, and Jacinta Windsor for the Waratahs in Narrabri.
All up in the Waratahs squad that played on Saturday, 11 had come through the Country pathway.
Bowen doesn't see that changing anytime soon. If anything he expects to only see more of that as country players become more and more of a "high commodity".
"It's amazing, it's probably the best part of the job to be honest," he said.
"You night coach one of the girls as an under 18 and then you see them on a World Series or you see them in a Super W game or playing professionally overseas."
Handing over the reins of the women's side this year as he moves across to the colts, Bowen is happy with where the program is and excited about the talent coming through.
"Every Country Championships it's just getting harder and harder to pick teams and every zone's developing. You rewind maybe 10 or so years ago, it was Hunter and Central West kind of in the mix," he said.
"Now you've got Mid North Coast, who are genuine threats, you've got Far North Coast coming into it, New England were there last year and Central North are strong.
"It just shows how well we're developing as a whole province in NSW Country."
He enjoyed a winning farewell with the Corellas side featuring New England's Charlotte Goldman, Skye Gordon-Briggs, Tahlia Morgan, Lekah Mohena and Clare Harpley getting the better of their Queensland counterparts in their game on Friday.
Played as part of the Santos Festival of Rugby, with the 21-5 win they also picked up the inaugural President's Cup and a $5,000 bonus.
Bowen was impressed with the performance, especially given it is only early in the pre-season and the sweltering conditions.
It was a tougher contest too than the scoreline indicates with Queensland holding the lead for a lot of the first half after an early try.
"We knew that we had them, we just had to trust the process and the girls did that really well," Bowen said.
"In the second half we sort of took it away.
"There wasn't really any panic stations, it was just coming back to what we knew we had to do."
Harpley was the only of the New England contingent not involved in the Adelaide campaign and acquitted herself well.
"She played some good minutes and just bought another sort of dimension at 10 which, when we look back at it, probably undid Queensland," Bowen said.
Gordon-Briggs was also a standout at fullback, he said.
The Country men unfortunately weren't able to make it a NSW double with the side featuring Pirates' Andrew Collins falling to their Queensland rivals 22-12.
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