The coaches & staff of the 2015 NSW U20s squad – Photo: Karen Watson

by Charlie Drayton –

The New South Wales Under 20s program is proving to be a dominant force in Australia’s junior rugby circles, with the team overpowering their Queensland counterparts on Wednesday afternoon.

A convincing 31-9 victory over Queensland saw NSW successfully defend their National Under 20s Championship for a second consecutive year.

The boys in blue drew first blood through NSW second rower Nick Kellaway, before Harry Jones made the most of some daylight out wide to score their second five-pointer of the day.

Queensland played the conservative card, with two penalties in the opening exchanges from James Dalgleish reducing the deficit to six.

After NSW flanker Jack McCalman crossed the line, Aussie Under 20s star Andrew Kellaway topped his brother’s effort with a chip and chase try to put the match out of reach for the Queenslanders.

It was one-way traffic after that, with NSW crossing the line for a fifth time to complete a resounding victory, much to the joy of proud coach, Tim Rapp.

“It’s a great result. The boys performed well all week so the victory over Queensland in the final was well deserved,” the coach said.

“They (Queensland) really tried to lift their physicality to disrupt our style of play, but our guys matched it pretty quickly. Once we got through that opening 20 minutes, we started to play the expansive style that we wanted and were able to score some good tries in that second half.”

The script is looking good for a three-peat in 2016, with seven players from the current 25-man squad set to return for New South Wales next year.

An all round team performance was on show, but coach Rapp was quick to credit the New South Wales engine room for their efforts in the twelve-point victory.

“It’s hard to single out anyone to be honest. Our front row was outstanding, the scrum dominated all tournament.

“Matt Sandell reminded me that our starting front row this year were the reserve front row last year, so it’s great to see those guys progress as players and perform well at this level,” Rapp said.

As for selection in the Australian U20s Team ahead of the Junior Rugby World Cup in June, the NSW coach was adamant his men were up for the job.

“I’m obviously biased, but I do think a lot of our guys deserve selection. I guess it depends on what style of rugby the coaches want to play, but I’ve got no doubt a lot of our players did everything they could to get picked.

“It gives these guys a chance to play a higher level of rugby and I think that will only lead to better Wallabies sides in the long run,” Rapp said.

With back-to-back Under 20s Championship’s and a host of young talent coming through the ranks, the future of junior rugby in New South Wales is in good health.