BATHURST Bulldogs forward Haylee Lepaio quite literally made an impact at the Building Durability Bathurst Rugby 10s tournament on Saturday as she helped her side to its second consecutive cup win.
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She began the tournament with a strong charge that knocked a Beer and Ball Runners defender to the turf and finished it with a pair of tries in the final against the same rival, Bulldogs taking the spoils with a 17-0 result at Ashwood Park.
The former US college basketball star made her Bulldogs debut at the Bathurst 10s 12 months earlier when a women's division was added the the tournament for the first time.
They won that inaugural final 14-0 and while Lepaio was not amongst the scorers, her strong carries, unorthodox but highly effective off-loads and crunching defence showed she would be a threat.
She went on to play in the 2019 title winning Ferguson Cup outfit - Bulldogs claiming their third consecutive Central West Rugby Union premiership - and turned out again on Saturday as the Bathurst club looked to defend its 10s title.
It was the Beer and Ball Runners - an outfit essentially made up of CSU talents - who finished on top of the ladder after the pool games and went into the final as favourites.
But after just 55 seconds, when sending the ball long on a line-out play then delivering it into the arms of Lepaio, Bulldogs had the lead.
Lepaio scored her second with around two minutes of the half remaining, charging over from close quarters, to take the score to 12-0.
In the second half Bulldogs sealed the win as Lilly McIntosh helped put Alicia Carr over following a scrum on the Beer and Bull Runners' line.
"We got four new girls here and it's not easy when you do that, they were all in the backs, but we sorted it out very well and I am very happy with how they went. You've just got to play the best you can in 10s and that's it," Bulldogs coach Tuma Aisake said.
"I am very lucky with those girls and the effort they put in. Last year we won and we did the same thing again, I'm so proud of them. I just love it, these girls are just amazing."