National U/16 Championship

[Chief]

The WA U/16 Boys have suffered a humiliating defeat against Queensland Red in their opening game of the National U/16 Competition. The first half saw WA with several scoring opportunities, however a strong Queensland defence, consisting of a well-drilled forward pack, held out the boys from the West. With the half time score at 19-3 to Queensland, it was all about to go pear-shaped for WA, with QLD running in seven unanswered tries in the second half. The domination of the QLD forward pack was clear with quick, clean ball from the breakdown. WA face Sydney Juniors tomorrow, Wednesday 28 September. Kick off 10 am AEST.

Queensland Red 64 (Rob Davies 2, Jack Mullins 2, Tom Murday, Albert Anae, George Tambakis, Kane Hollongsworth, Galu Teo, John Lane tries Galu Teo 3, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves 3, Troydon Watene-Edwards con) defeated Western Australia 3 (Sam Heinemann pen)

[Darren]

With a national team playing out of WA now, the skills, enthusiasm and wins will be on the rise me thinks! Better luck in the next game boys!

[Chief]

Today, WA faced Sydney Juniors and the score line looks quite dismal for the West Aussies. This is the second humiliating defeat the boys from the West have suffered out of their two games played so far in the National U/16 Championships. WA had only limited scoring opportunities, and were only able to convert these opportunities twice throughout the match. WA went into the break only 14-5 down, though, similar to their first match against QLD, let the match slip away in the second half. After a Sydney try early in the second half, WA Captain Darren Van Wyk added some spark to his team. The powerful centre made an inspirational break through the defence, opening up a 40 metre run to the try line. Western Australia stepped up their attack, and for the remainder of the match came close to the Sydney line a number of times, but were unable to find the tryline. Their defence was also strong but was unable to stop a further four Sydney Juniors tries before full time. WA are waiting on results from the afternoon matches, which will decide if they are to play again in the Championship.
EDIT: The WA side will be playing Victoria on Friday 30th September - the two teams will play off for 7th and 8th place.

Sydney Juniors 48 (Fred Pakutoa, Tom Anderson, Christian Coade, Sam Latunipulu, Luke Nisbett, Scott Taylor, Luke Jarvie tries; Jordon McGregor 5 cons, pen) defeated Western Australia 10 (Sam Heinemann, Darren van Wyk tries)

[Darren]

Not as bad as the previous score line, but ..... playing off for 8th place! Poor guys. AT least if they *do* come last, they can't do any worse next year. Come one guys - take out those Vics!

[Chief]

Wouldn't be good losing to the state that lost their bid for the new Super 14 franchise to WA!

[Chief]

Today marked the last day of the National U/16 Championships in Sydney. The highlight of the day would have to have been the Division One final played between NSW Schools and Queensland Red. In a tight game, the NSW Schools team just got over the line in a nail-biting thriller, winning 20-17. The win meant that NSW Schools retain the John Eales Shield for the second year in a row.

The division one playoff for third and fourth position saw another close encounter. Although it was a low scoring contest, the match provided pure excitement the whole 80 minutes. The final scoreline gave NSW Country a 12-7 defeat of ACT.

The final day of the Championships proved to be a thriller in the first two matches of the day. The playoff for 5th and 6th was not going to disappoint. The match saw Sydney Juniors taking the match by one point over Queensland White 13-12. By winning this match, Sydney Juniors were presented with the Nick Farr-Jones Shield.

Now for the match everyone on this site would be most eager to read about. The 7th/8th playoff between WA and Victoria saw yet again, another nail-biter. Some explosive running from WA Captain Darren Van Wyk saw WA with its first points on the board. When Lock Kieran Stringer crashed his way over the line, WA had the momentum their way when going into the break at 10-6. The second half saw WA Captain Darren Van Wyk go over the try line for the second time in the match, and WA had looked to secured the game. Victorian flanker Sydney Lesa touched down late in the second half for Victoria's only try, however some desperate defence from WA saw the boys from the West win their first match of the Championships. With high expectations going into the event, WA have had a disappointing week, although at the end of the day, it was good for the boys to get a win under their belt. Congratulations boys, and better luck in Schoolboys next year!

Western Australia 17 (Darren van Wyk 2, Kieran Stringer tries; Sam Heinemann con) defeated Victoria 11 (Sydney Lesa try; Darcy Etrich 2 pens)