Pittwater Life January 2024 Issue

Lili’s a rugby lioness
News
Narrabeen’s Lili Boyle
recently captained the
Australian Schoolgirl
Sevens team to a global victory
with her skillful and physical
displays, and yet you wouldn’t
know it off the pitch.
Off the field Lili is shy and
reserved, and has a smile that
says butter-wouldn’t melt. On
the pitch, she’s described as
a lion.
Captaining the Australian
Schoolgirl Sevens rugby team
to victory in the Global Youth
Sevens on the Gold Coast
in December, she was also
named in the tournament’s
Dream Team, selected from
every nation taking part.
A student at Narrabeen
Sports High, she’s an ordinary
Beaches teen who loves
Chicken Bites in Narrabeen
and surfing with friends at
Freshie Beach (“we’re not very
good!”). She hangs with her
family and friends, does her
studies – and then tears apart
the opposition on the rugby
field.
“I’m not really in a position
that scores points,” says Lili,
“but I do lots of tackling and
get through a lot of work.”
And it’s that work ethic
that earned the respect of her
teammates and the captaincy
of the team.
“I wasn’t expecting to be
captain, but we went up to the
Gold Coast and at the jersey
presentation I was named
captain,” says Lili humbly, “it
was mainly for my leadership
on the pitch and the way the
girls respect me and look up
to me.”
REWARD FOR EFFORT: Unassuming Lili Boyle’s leadership skills were recognised when she was selected captain
of the ultimately victorious Australian Schoolgirl Sevens team last month.
Grandmother Karen says
Lili’s transformation when she
runs out to play is astounding.
“She’s so quiet, but just
comes into her own on the
field,” says Karen. “It just
amazes me how much respect
her teammates have for her!”
Lili got into rugby through
her younger brother and initially
started playing 15-a-side,
before progressing to 7s. A
regular for Manly Mermaids,
the victorious Australian
team she captained had barely
trained together, let alone
played any games.
“The girls are all aged 16, 17
and 18, and we went through
a selection process,” explains
Lili. “I represented Sydney
North and then NSW and we
played against Qld and ACT.
The best girls from those
games progressed to a selection
camp, where they picked
the final 13 for the squad.
“We’d never played together
as a team, and didn’t get to
train together a great deal,
but we had two camps and
also went up to the Gold Coast
early to prepare together.”
Lili says she and the team
took some inspiration from our
national golden girls The Matildas
and it all came together for
them in a tense final against
the “old enemy” New Zealand,
after beating Canada and
Tonga in earlier games.
“There was a real bond and
connection between the girls
in the final,” reveals Lili. “We
had real trust to get the job
done together and beat New
Zealand 27-12.”
At 18, Lili will now end her
role with the Schoolgirls rugby
team, but with pathways growing
for women in traditional
men’s sports, a jump in code
to rugby league and the Sea
Eagles might be her next port
of call?
The lioness of Narrabeen
might next become an eagle.
Regardless, expect to hear a
whole lot more of Lili Boyle.
– Rob Pegley
10 JANUARY 2024
The Local Voice Since 1991