One is stocky and plays hard on the ball. The other is tall and hits hard in both attack and defence. 

They’re both the standouts for their respective undefeated school sides and they’ve both been named to play alongside one another in the backrow for the New Souths Wales U18s this Saturday against Queensland. 

And best of all, they’re both red heads. 

Austin Durbidge from Kings and Jono Ryan from Knox are both back for a second season in the Waratahs’ U18s program. 

Both grew from the experience in 2022 and have been the form players of their respective school competitions. 

Durbidge has dominated the breakdown and led Kings’ to six straight competition wins, while Ryan has been equally impactful around the park in Knox’s unbeaten run that dates back to April this year. 

“I think getting a taste of the Waratahs U18 program last year set us both up really well for 2023,” Ryan told Rugby News. 

“We trained hard and it gave us both plenty of confidence coming into our year 12 seasons.”

Ryan grew up playing his club footy at Wahroonga Tigers and rep rugby for Gordon. He started at Knox at the start of 2022 and had an immediate impact. 

The bigger of the two young men, Ryan is expected to start at blindside flanker for NSW this weekend. 

“No.7 is probably my preferred position but I’m happy to play anywhere in a side like this,” the backrower said. 

“I think my game is probably most suited to No.7 at the moment, but as I’ve got a bit of height, I’m comfortable playing No.6 or No.8. I like to carry hard, tackle and make an impact around the park and I also like having a bit of fun getting lifted in the lineouts as well, so it’s good to be able to play both.”

Durbidge played his club footy for Hills and won several State Championships with the Western Sydney (Parramatta) Two Blues, before turning his focus to his school footy. 

Over the last few years, he’s been coached by Eastwood’s premiership winning flyhalf Jimmy Hilgendorf and flanker Hugh Perrett. 

“My game is based around being hard on the ball but my coaches, particularly Hugh, have shown me over the last few years that there are different ways for No.7s to impact the game. Through counter ruck, being solid in defence, carrying the ball well,” Durbidge told Rugby News. 

Durbidge packed on 11kgs before starting year 11 but spent the past off season working on his speed and agility.

It’s worked wonders for his rugby and helped him form one half of what NSW coaches are hoping will prove to be a lethal combination between Durbidge and Ryan in sky blue jerseys for many years to come. 

“I love playing against good No.7s because it makes you play better but I’m also really enjoying playing alongside Jono. Two redheads in the backrow, it’s pretty cool. 

“We also compliment each other quite well. In attack my focus is usually on passing first and securing the ball for our team, whereas his running game is a real threat and he’s always looking to break the line or put on a big shot in defence.”

Ryan will link with Gordon to play colts after graduating school at the end of the year, while Durbidge is yet to decide where he will play. 

First though, they both say they’re focussed on Saturday’s clash against Queensland and winning the CAS and GPS competitions respectively. 

“Last year NSW did really well in the first matches up in QLD but later in the year, QLD beat NSW I down in Canberra, so we know they’ll be tough,” Ryan said. 

“Right now, my main focus is to win these two games on the weekend and then after that I really want to go back to school and win the CAS premiership with Knox. We’ve got three rounds to go against Waverley, Cranbrook and Barker, so we’ve got lots to play for.” 

Durbidge’s Kings’ outfit can lock up at least a share of the GPS premiership with two wins from their final four matches, but he said the side is hoping for more than that. 

“I’m pretty lucky to play in a red hot Kings’ side and we want to finish the year undefeated. That’s always been our goal. 

“If we want to do that, we need to take the next step and execute better in our final few games. “

“We’ve got 14 boys in year 12 in the side so for the majority of us, it’s our last few games at Kings and we really want to finish it well.”

NSW I faces QLD I at Ballymore at 2:30pm on Saturday with NSW II taking on QLD II beforehand at 1pm.