THE dream of Tash Watts-Tehiko is now agonisingly close with the Dubbo multi-sports star waiting to find out if she has been selected in the Australian women's rugby squad, the Wallaroos.
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The versatile Watts-Tehiko was a key player for NSW Country at both fullback and at the recent National 15s Championships at Sydney and is in the running to be named in the extended 40-player squad.
The extended squad will form the base from which the 2017 World Cup side is chosen.
New Zealand-born Watts-Tehiko, 37, made the move to Dubbo in recent years in order to further her rugby career and she said on Tuesday it was incredibly nerve-wracking knowing she was so close.
"It would mean everything, it would be a dream come true," she said of possible national selection.
"It's my biggest goal at the moment and the reason I moved to Dubbo.
"I've only been here about three years. I lived in Melbourne for seven years before this but I came from New Zealand before that."
The Dubbo Rhinos Sheilas star was joined by fellow Dubbo player Niwa Gotty in the NSW Country squad.
Their side won one from four matches at Sydney but a number of players pushed their case for national selection.
After warm-up matches against both the ACT and Sydney, NSW Country again came up against the team from the nation's capital in the opening game of the National 15s Championships.
A 15-0 loss was followed by a 22-0 loss against Queensland but a 12-3 win over the Australian Services, a game in which Watts-Tehiko scored a try, saw NSW Country still manage to qualify for the Plate Final.
They came up against Victoria there and the team from down south proved just too strong, winning a tight match 10-7.
The championships were won by Sydney, who were victorious in all their matches and had only had one try scored against them the entire campaign.
While it was not the dream campaign for NSW Country it was still an impressive effort from the Central West contingent with Dubbo duo Watts-Tehiko and Gotty joined by Cowra pair Inge Visser and Krystle Fyfe as well as Orange's Olivia Patterson.
Watts-Tehiko hoped the performances would inspire more girls to take up rugby with the Dubbo star currently combining it with her love of netball, in which she plays and also coaches a number of local junior representative teams.
The Dubbo connection was alive and well at the Nationals and Watts-Tehiko admitted it was a joy to play alongside Gotty.
"She played awesome every time she got game time and she was just on a high like me," she said.
"It was great to have another Dubbo girl there, we amped each other up and I know she's really looking forward to seeing who's made the Australian squad.
"Apparently there's five girls from Country they were looking at."
The extended Wallaroos squad is expected to be named by the end of this week.