THE strength of the rugby union program at St Stanislaus’ College has never been more evident than the selection of five players in the recently-announced NSW Under 16s representative teams.
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Tom and Cory Hooper, Nick Rankine (NSW 1), Fletcher Wright and Cameron Trengrove (NSW 2) will be off to the Gold Coast in September to represent the state at the national championships, testing themselves against some of the best junior players in Australia.
Despite their age, all five players have featured in the undefeated Stannies 1st XV at some stage this year and have proved vital components of their teams throughout the ISA season.
NSW selector and Stannies 16A’s coach Geoff Melville is excited to see the quintet taking part in the new national competition.
“It’s an incredible achievement for the school. We certainly haven’t had this number of players selected before,” he said.
“It’s a new format this year. The Australian Rugby Union has invited each state to send teams to a national carnival, the first time something like this has happened in 10 years. NSW will be sending two teams.
“It’s the best of the best going to the Gold Coast and I expect they will be picking a merit side out of that carnival.
“These boys will now be on the selection pathway for NSW Waratahs and the Australian Rugby Union. Under 16s is a real pathway age group, and they’ve been identified now as players to watch for the future.”
The Australian Rugby Union Under 16s National Championships will run from September 24 to 30.
Melville said the group have benefited greatly from playing in the school’s top side.
“Tom Hooper plays second row and Nick Rankine plays on the wing. They’ve played every game in the firsts this year, which is an outstanding achievement for 16-year-olds,” he said.
It’s an incredible achievement for the school. We certainly haven’t had this number of players selected before.
- Geoff Melville
“Cory Hooper plays at blindside breakaway, Fletcher Wright is at Number 8 and Cameron Trengrove is at halfback and they’re all part of the Stannies under 16s. They’ve also played some time in the 1st XV as well.
“Those three boys are in year 10 so to have boys of that age experience 1st XV rugby, especially with the likes of [Australian Schoolboys representative] Bo Abra and the team, it’s a really good succession program for years to come.”
The five under 16s boys have helped both the 1st XV and the 16A’s sweep almost every single team before them this ISA season.
Both teams combined have lost just a single game in what has been one of the strongest seasons of rugby for the school in the past decade.
The 1st XV maintained their undefeated run on Saturday thanks to a 61-19 win over Oakhill College, and with just two games in the season are close to completing an unblemished year.
Stannies’ 16A’s got their revenge over Oakhill – the only team to best the Bathurst side – in a 26-17 victory.