SAINT Stanislaus' College has produced many fine exponents of rugby union over the years, but this season there is something a little bit different about one of its emerging talents.
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It's because it is not a male student, but rather a female teacher.
Music, art and religion teacher Gaby Fahy is one of the new faces in the Bathurst Bulldogs women's squad who made their Ferguson Cup debut last Saturday.
She was amongst those to cross the stripe as Bulldogs beat the Dubbo Kangaroos 47-0.
While Fahy is not a newcomer to team sport, having previously played netball, basketball and touch football, lining up in the Bathurst Bulldogs' pack has taken adjustment.
But her team-mates have made her feel welcome and she is embracing the challenge.
"I thought having played touch football, being in the backs might be slightly similar, but I'm playing in the forwards, so I'm learning a lot," she said.
"The whole rucking thing is quite new to me, getting through that is quite tricky, but I'm starting to get the gist of where I'm meant to be and what I'm meant to do.
"It's great and it's a lot of fun. I've never really been in a club that is so welcoming."
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Fahy got her first taste of rugby union in a trial match against Blacktown, saying "I was so nervous, I was like 'What's going to happen?'."
After that match, some of the students at Stannies then introduced her to sporting banter.
"It was really funny, the week after I played Blacktown a couple of the boys came up to me and they were 'Hey miss, we saw you playing on the weekend'," she said.
"I was like 'Oh really' and that said 'Yeah, you got smashed by another girl'. I thought oh dear, but it was pretty funny though."
Had those same students seen Fahy in action in the trial match against CSU which followed, they would have been impressed.
This time she was the one dishing out hard hits in defence, she muscled up in the scrum, gained good attacking metres and she very nearly scored a try.
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Fahy then improved again in the season opener against Dubbo as the Bulldogs began their title defence with a win.
"I feel like I'm a bit of a crazy person on the field, I just run at them and hope for the best. It's been good, once I get onto the field I'm fine," she said.
"It's more just knowing where I'm meant to be, because I'm kind of into tackling, I enjoy the tackling."
Fahy's next task with the Bathurst Bulldogs will be this Saturday against Orange City. The match at Ashwood Park will kick off at noon.
