SHE might have been a late call up, but Cushla Rue reaffirmed her status as one of Australia's best emerging footballers when making her debut for the Young Matildas on Wednesday night.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
It was a winning debut as well for the Bathurst talent, with the Australians posting a 5-1 victory against the New Zealand under 20s in Canberra.
Rue was called into the Young Matildas camp late after four players initially in the squad were forced to go into isolation after testing positive to COVID-19.
"I'm really happy for her, that's been the end goal for her for a long time, since she started," her father James Rue said.
"When she went down and watched the Matildas played in Penrith and thought 'Look at that', I think that was a bit of an eye-opener too, watching the seniors. To get an under 20s cap, it's fantastic."
While Rue did not make the cut for the initial camp, she was in the extended squad and was already on the radar of Young Matildas coach Leah Blayney.
After Rue had attended a Young Matildas camp in 2021, it was Blayney who contacted her about a chance to join the playing roster of A-League Women's newcomers Wellington Phoenix.
The teenager signed with Phoenix last October and made her Women's A-League debut for Wellington Phoenix in February. She finished the season with two appearances.
Then last Saturday that Rue got a message from Blayney asking her to get a COVID test and once cleared, she joined the Young Matildas camp on Sunday morning.
At that stage Blayney was yet to finalise her starting line-up for the first of two games against the Junior Football Ferns.
"They played a game against the boys on Monday. They threw her on the right wing and then they threw her at right back, they were short on right backs, and she put in a good performance," James Rue said.
"Leah asked if we were coming down to watch which was a fair indication, but officially she knew on Wednesday morning.
"She's now proven she can do it, she's got a cap for the under 20s and it gives her a bit of a profile.
"She's got a proud family. She's worked hard, she's done a lot of miles and put a lot of commitment into it, so to get it [Young Matildas cap] is great."
Though used in attack for Wellington, against the Junior Football Ferns Rue played the full 90 minutes at right back.
While the Young Matildas ended up commanding winners, the Junior Football Ferns still applied pressure. Rue impressed as she helped break down their attacking raids.
She described it as "such an incredible experience".
Blayney was certainly pleased with the efforts of the Bathurst teenager and her team-mates.
"It was an excellent night of football for the Young Matildas," Blayney said.
"It was fantastic that Australian football was able to see a lot of future stars of our game in action.
"During the past couple of days we have just stuck together as a group throughout the whole time, which was really, really helpful for us.
"Every time they pressed, they pressed together, every time they went forward, they went forward together. That has been a theme of the camp and something that they put together on the park.
"The overall performance of a lot of young kids was pleasing with them all playing towards the one goal."
Rue will be hoping for more game time on Sunday when the Young Matildas play a second match against the Junior Football Ferns in Canberra.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content:
- Bookmark www.westernadvocate.com.au
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News