Bathurst Bulldogs Old Boys win gold at 2022 Pan Pacific Masters Games on Gold Coast

A convincing 40-5 victory in the final completed a memorable campaign for the Bulldogs in their first major event since the COVID-19 outbreak.

It was a moment more than a year in the making for the Bulldogs, who had to wait a year for their shot at glory after the virus put the Pan Pacific games on hold.

Bulldogs Old Boys president and team manager Paul Welsh said the wait proved to be worthwhile for the club.

"It's a chance for a bunch of old blokes, for want of a better phrase, relive their youth. To come away with a gold medal was amazing. It was a real emotional moment," he said.

"It was something we joked about - wanting to go there and come away with something. To come away with gold, and the way we did so, was pretty impressive. It was a clean game, played in the right spirit of masters.

"That was the first time we've been to this, so that's one from one at this stage."

After the group games Bulldogs qualified for the division two final, where they would await the winner of the Wallopers versus Gorillas game.

Bulldogs put it all together with a great performance through the middle of the park to set up a dominant success against the Gorillas.

"We came out of those first games in a position to win the gold or silver and we went on to win the gold medal match 40-5 over the Queensland Gorillas," Welsh said.

"Our forward pack played so well in that final. Our forward showed a lot of dominance with their work up the middle of the field. We dominated the breakdown and gave good cleanout for our backs."

Welsh said it will be great to see the old boys team gain more playing opportunities in major competitions in the near future.

"We play regularly during the year in the Sydney competition. We go to the ACT veterans day, which is in Duntroon, and we play against the Australian Police Wallopers for the Bryce Anderson Cup - which we took out this year," he said.

"We also play with teams like Avoca Beach, Lismore and places like that. We'll also look to participate in some Victorian gala days next year, plus a couple of our guys will head across to Perth next year for the Golden Oldies Rugby Festival.

"The Pan Pacifics was the first major competition we've done since covid, because it was cancelled last year, which was really disappointing."

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