It’s been a big few years for Bo Abra and this week it is set to get even bigger with his Australian Schoolboys rugby union debut.
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Born and raised in Tamworth on the family property, Abra made the move to Bathurst at 15 to take his place in the Saint Stanislaus’ College boarding house with the dream of honing his skills at the famous rugby school.
While a big move for any youngster to make, Abra’s desire to chase his footballing dream professionally made the transition worthwhile.
“It was a big challenge at first, moving out at 15 I was nervous coming into a new place,” he said.
“However, the culture here at the school and the people make you want to keep playing and working hard on your footy.”
By 2016, Abra was making waves in the local rugby union community, with the tales of the sizeable loose-head prop’s talent spreading quickly.
A member of the Stannies first XV side, he gained selection to the Independent Schools Association (ISA) representative side, before taking the field for the combined states and finally the Australian Schoolboys Barbarians - the country’s second string side for school aged rugby union players.
However, it has been in 2017 where the young prop has come into his own.
Captaining Stannies on an unbeaten run of 10 games in the ISA competition, Abra and his team-mates defeated all in their path as the school took out its first title in nine years.
“To go undefeated was amazing. The team culture we developed throughout the year, and the last few years, made us too strong this year,” he said.
“We were a very humble side, which was important. We played as a team and to win the first title for the school in almost 10 years is a huge honour.”
Once again these performances did not go unnoticed by selectors, with a call up into the 2017 NSW Schoolboys side Abra’s reward for his hard hitting style of football, with the captain’s armband coming as a welcome surprise.
Getting so close to national schoolboys selection the previous year, Abra was determined to make the final step in his final school year.
Four games for NSW sSchoolboys, playing against the best of the best of school age rugby players in the country, was used to select a squad of 20 players to represent Australia, and take on a host of visiting nations in a Tri-nations series.
Selectors were impressed, giving him the opportunity to represent his country.
Come Monday Abra will make his debut with the Australian Schoolboys side against Fiji Schools, while he will line up against New Zealand Schools on Saturday.
