A GROUP of Holy Family students will get the experience of a lifetime today when they head to Sydney for the state-wide finals of the NSW Primary Schools Rugby Sevens tournament.

The youngsters from the Bathurst school will play a series of preliminary matches at Moore Park before heading to Allianz Stadium – also known as the Sydney Football Stadium – where they will complete their tournament.

Every side who has qualified for the finals will get one match on the hallowed turf in the lead-up to the NSW Waratahs’ Super Rugby clash with New Zealand outfit the Chiefs.

Win, lose or draw, coach Dane Fitzpatrick couldn’t be prouder of his team, but said they would love to finish off their already brilliant campaign on an even better note.

“It is pretty new territory for our school. No Holy Family team has made it this far in the five or so years this competition has been running, so they’ve broken new ground,” he said.

“Last year St Mary’s in Dubbo won the regional competition, made it to the finals day and then I think made it through to the top four or five teams overall, and they were a very strong side, so it is going to be tough.

“But that is still the aim for the players, they’re very stoked to be there and getting that chance to play down in Sydney, but they want to keep winning.

“They’ve got a bit of a taste for it at the moment. They won the Bathurst and then Western sevens titles, and on Tuesday they won the David Peachey Shield for rugby league in the Bathurst area, so they’re in good form.”

Holy Family have been given what looks like a tough draw in their pool matches, which feature Cessnock school St Phillip’s, Wollongong school Figtree Heights and elite Sydney school Newington Prep.

A renowned rugby nursery, Newington shape as the biggest hurdle to the Bathurst school in getting through to the knock-out stages.

“If we can get through those, we go into the semi-finals, but even if we don’t, we still get the chance to play at Allianz which is something the boys will never forget,” Fitzpatrick said.

“There is a really good mix of kids in the side. There are about five or six of them that play junior rugby union, one that plays soccer and the rest play rugby league.

“They’ve all combined really well and hopefully they keep the good form going.”