OVER 40 teams descended upon the city for Sunday’s Bathurst Junior Rugby Club gala event in a cold but enjoyable day of football.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The gala day is one of many which take place across the Central West with Sunday being Bathurst’s turn to play host to the region’s next aspiring rugby stars.
While the matches are hotly contested the final score isn’t the focus for teams, instead the emphasis is on the players’ enjoyment and development.
Orignally pencilled in to take place at Ashwood Park, wet weather saw the matches moved to The Scots School.
“It ran extremely well. The Scots guys were very accommodating and we’re very thankful for that,” Bathurst Junior Rugby Club vice-president Ivan England said.
”With those team numbers we expect there would have been up to 1,800 or 2,000 people there which is fantastic.
“We had teams from places like Parkes, Forbes, Canowindra, Mudgee and heaps of teams from Orange.
Forty-three is a really good number of teams and for us, being the first gala day after school holidays, everyone was extremely keen to get out there and play some rugby.
- Bathurst Junior Rugby Club vice-president Ivan England
“It was a bit cool out there, even for some of the boys who are used to it. We still had frost on the ground when we kicked off in the morning.”
The gala day saw under 7s, 9s and 11s teams test their skills against players from across the region with each age group playing under a different set of rules.
“The under 7s play a no-tackle, two-hand touch rule. That age group even has four, five and six-year-olds playing so it’s great development for them before they get into full contact,” England said.
“Under 9s have non-contested lineouts and scrums, plus they’ve got to pass the ball twice before being tackled. Under 11s is where they start to play closer to the full game except there’s 12 players instead of 15.”
England said the day is one of the most important on the club’s calendar.
“These gala days have been taking place almost every weekend since the start of term two. We also go over to other places to help out their own gala days.
“When they come out here it’s a great chance for us to showcase both our town and our facilities.
“Forty-three is a really good number of teams and for us, being the first gala day after school holidays, everyone was extremely keen to get out there and play some rugby.
“For us the gala day is crucial. It’s to not only showcase the club .. but it’s our biggest fundraiser so it’s very important from that perspective.”
