Having qualified through winning the regional finals, Holy Family were looking to emulate the achievements of the Assumption School in 2011 and 2013 by taking out the state crown.

They were unable to get a win in their three pool games, though they were competitive in all of them and did manage to snare a draw.

“The boys were probably a little bit disappointed not to come away with a win but their three pool games were all very close,” Holy Family principal Kevin Arrow said.

“The first match in particular they were trailing early on and were able to come back and almost get home.

“We were very closely matched with all three of the other sides so it was disappointing we couldn’t get any wins, but [coach] Dane Fitzpatrick and [manager] Brent Dennis said it was a fantastic day and played in the proper spirit.”

In the opening game, Holy Family were down 15-0 against St Philomena’s of Moree in the first half.

They rallied and were able to pull back the margin and looked like pulling off a stunning comeback but had to settle for an honourable 20-15 defeat.

In the next match they faced St Mary’s of Toukley, and in a close affair the two sides finished locked at 10-all.

The last preliminary game saw them take on Fairy Meadow from Newcastle, but again they were unable to get that cherished victory and went down 25-10, not a bad result considering Fairy Meadow went on to win the final.

The squad included Geordie Larkin, Chase Hayes, Benson Sharwood, Jayden Fisher, Bailey Warren, Riley Comerford, Jia Siakisoni, Rocco Yates, Ike Bellamy, Liam Cooke, Harvey Thurston, Max Mead, Jai Fitzgerald, Zac Foskett and Sean Gardner.

Despite the results, the fact that they made it as far as they did was a tick in the box for Holy Family, and on the back of Assumption’s success in recent years, it speaks volumes for the development of rugby in Bathurst.

The sport is coming off a huge high, thanks to the Wallabies’ visit to town last week.

“The development officers for the sport around this area have done a lot of really hard work to kick on with the primary school programs,” Arrow said.

“People like Mark Debrincat with all the programs he’s provided, and the sevens and 10s tournaments he’s set up for kids around here have made a huge difference and the future looks very strong.”