The Canberra Raiders recruited prop Charlie Gubb to bolster their NRL forward pack, but his arrival in the capital has helped the ACT Brumbies land one of the best signings of the inaugural Super W season.
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New Zealand Black Ferns lock Charlene Gubb will make her Brumbies debut at the Brisbane 10s on February 9-10 after moving to Canberra with husband and new Raiders prop Charlie.
Charlene and Charlie? It sounds like match made in heaven, but the only problem is Charlene is still trying to understand the rules of rugby league.
So despite putting her sporting career on the backburner to move to Canberra for Charlie's Raiders ambitions, the opportunity to join the Brumbies was too good to pass up.
Charlene, 30, was part of New Zealand's World Cup-winning squad last year and joining the Brumbies is helping her settle into her new home.
"Charlie and I have a lot of debates about the rules in each code, I'm only just starting to learn league and I'm trying to learn it so I enjoy it more when I watch him," Charlene said.
"Our middle names start with the same letter as well, so you don't even know who the mail is for when it comes to the house. But the plus side is people don't forget our names.
"He's enjoying being a new environment over here, so if he's happy, I'm happy.
"After the rugby World Cup last year, I agreed with [Charlie] that rugby would kind of take a back seat for now, but it just worked out the Brumbies had this team going.
"I don't know anyone in Canberra so it's a great way to meet some new people."
Charlene will play alongside Wallaroos veteran Louise Burrows as part of the 18-strong squad, which will form the bulk of the Brumbies for the Super W campaign, which begins in March.
The Brisbane 10s will be the first serious warm up after Rugby Australia announced plans to start a new women's competition.
The five-round Super W will boast teams from NSW, Melbourne, Queensland and Western Australia.
The Brisbane 10s will give the Brumbies the perfect chance to test new combinations as they prepare for games against the Rebels, Queensland and NSW, with the top two teams to meet in a final.
Charlene started playing rugby as part of the "go 4 gold" program in New Zealand after rugby sevens was added to the Olympic Games program in 2012.
She made her Black Ferns debut in 2015 and has been playing in New Zealand's women's provincial championship for the past six years.
"It's definitely different [in Australia]. But the girls over here are keen to learn," Charlene said.
"It seems the ball is starting to roll a bit quicker on this side of the Tasman. Some of the girls in the [Brumbies] squad are in either their first or second year in rugby.
"The World Cup was definitely a highlight for me last year ... I don't if I'll go on to the next one. I'm 30 now, it's been a big change coming to Canberra so we'll see what happens."
BRUMBIES WOMEN'S SQUAD
Tania Afamasaga, Emerna Aviga, Kiahan Bell-Chambers, Kate Brown, Louise Burrows, Jane Garraway, Charlene Grubb, Jess Howard, Michaela Leonard, Irene Macarthur, Paremo Marsh, Shellie Millward, Georgia O'Neill, Michelle Perry, Darcy Read, Ccelia Smith, Merrin Starr, Remi Wilton..
