NSW eager to continue schoolboy dominance
NSW will look to continue its dominance of the schoolboy rugby scene when the Australian Championships begin in Sydney on Monday.
The host state has dominated the annual tournament in recent years, with NSW 1 beating NSW 2 in last year’s final.
Whilst a number of those players have returned for a second stint in 2015, a fresh crop of talent has arrived and will look to play their way into an Australian Schools jersey at Riverview next week.
“The selection process was really tough, there is a lot of exciting young talent coming through,” NSW 1’s coach Brad Gill told Rugby News.
Both squads have spent a week in camp in Sydney ahead of the four match tournament, with Gill admitting the preparation has been limited.
“I don’t want to stifle the boys with too much information, I’d rather let them express themselves and throw the ball around. I like that open style of rugby and ball movement is a key to that,” he said.
Whilst the coach was hesitant to single out individuals, he said he’s been impressed with scrumhalf Harrison Goddard (Oakhill) and flyhallf Jack McGregor (Riverview) in camp this week.
“Harrison Goddard has been really good. He got a taste of the Australian Schoolboys program last year and took a lot out of that, so he’s been really good for the team so far,” he said.
“Jack McGregor has been selected as captain, he’s a really good leader. As a five eighth, he control the game well, he’ll be a real asset.”
After both sides made last year’s final, 12 NSW players were selected in the Australian Schools squad, indicating a direct correlation between team success and further representative honours.
“The guys picking Australian schools are looking for guys that can play in a team environment. It’s great to have those individual skills and qualities, but if you don’t bring it to the team, it’s not going to be much use,” Gill said.
“The individual skill will show if we are playing well as a team and winning.”
NSW 1 plays Victoria, Western Australia and QLD 2 in their pool matches, whilst NSW 2 faces ACT, Combined States and QLD 1.
Gill said he thought the Queensland sides would be the obvious threat.
“They’ve always got a few players with some real x-factor and a few big boys that can cause plenty of damage up front.”
“They’ve been working really hard after last year, so they’ll be very keen to end that NSW domination.”
However the coach acknowledged the gap between NSW and Queensland and the rest of the sides was quickly closing.
“I can see Victoria winning it in the not to distant future. They just continue to get better and better year after year, so you can’t take them lightly either.”
Despite that, he still thinks both NSW sides are good enough to take out the tournament and dominate Australian Schools selections.
“NSW 2’s have been in the final the last two years, so there is no reason that those guys can’t perform through the week and push for higher honours.”
“First and foremost, it’s about doing well at the tournament. If we can do that and get to the final, then I think we’ll have a good representation in that Australian Schoolboys side.”
Australian Schools Championships – St Ignatius, Riverview
Day 1 – Monday
10am: NSW 1 v Victoria
11:30am: Combined States v QLD 1
1pm: QLD 2 v WA
2:30pm: NSW 2 v ACT
Day 2 – Tuesday
11:30am: Lloyd McDermott v Northern Territory
1pm: Tasmania v South Australia
Day 3 – Wednesday
10am: WA v NSW 1
11:30am: QLD 1 v ACT
1pm: QLD 2 v Victoria
2:30pm: Combined States v NSW 2
Day 4 – Thursday
10am: South Australia v Northern Territory
10am: Combined States v ACT
11:30am: Tasmania v Lloyd Mcdermott
11:30am: Victoria v WA
1pm: NSW 2 v QLD 1
2:30pm: NSW 1 v QLD 2
Day 5 – Friday
10am: Northern Territory v Tasmania
11:30am: Lloyd McDermott v South Australia
Day 6 – Saturday
9am: Pool A 4th v Pool B 4th
10:15am: Pool A 3rd v Pool B 3rd
11:30am: Pool A 2nd v Pool B 2nd
12:45: Pool A 1st v Pool B 1st