Western Australia is set to return to the Australian schools rugby championships
A Super Rugby icon will spearhead an Australian Schoolboy’s side that are enjoying flying under the radar before hoping to pull off a major competition upset.
Sunshine Coast
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A team from the opposite side of the country will re-emerge from the wilderness with aims of pulling off some serious upsets at the Australian schools rugby championships.
Western Australia will return to the under-18 schoolboys arena for the first time since 2018 while two girls 7’s teams will compete in the under-18 and under-16 divisions for the very first time.
The boys 15-a-side cohort will be led by head coach and former Super Rugby star Jono Lance.
The 35-year-old played 75 Super Rugby games for the Force (28 games), NSW Waratahs (13) and Queensland Reds (34) during his playing career from 2010 before retiring in 2022, winning two Super Rugby titles along the way with the Reds in 2011 and Waratahs in 2014.
Lance, an Australian Schoolboys player himself back in 2007, said he couldn’t wait for the tournament to begin as the men in yellow look to regain the respect they deserve.
“It’s really exciting for this age group, Western Australia haven’t had a team in this competition for the last few years and there’s a great link between Australian Rugby and the Australian Schools competition,” Lance said.
“When I was coming through this was the benchmark tournament for schoolboy footy in the country so to give our Western Australian kids the chance to rip in against the east coast guys is pretty rare.”
Similar to the New South Wales Juniors side, a host of players set to represent WA have already left school but are still eligible to compete at the tournament due to their age.
A handful of players have risen through the grades in the Rugby WA and Western Force academy systems.
“They’re a really tight knit group that have trained a lot together over the past few years which is a bit different to the other states,” he said.
“Naturally, New South Wales and Queensland are going to be the heavyweights but we’ve had a different approach and we’ll be solid.
“I know it’s a cliche and every side has talented individuals but we’ve had that extra time together which has allowed us to gel really well and understand each other’s game.”
The WA under-18s side will begin their tournament on Monday before the under-18 and under-16s girls 7s teams take centre stage from Friday.
“They boys got really excited when I told them we would start our tournament against Queensland and then play New South Wales or ACT on day two,” he said.
“There’s just a real buzz to get over there and play some good footy.”
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