A-TEAM: Rugby’s rising stars make waves in comp

The youngsters took their grand final against the regional leaders into nailbiting extra time.

BIG GRINS: Scots PGC College and Warwick Water Rats’ U13s team with their grand final medals. Picture: Tess Enchelmaier

RUGBY: Warwick’s next generation of rugby union stars is on the rise, with one young team battling through a season of setbacks to achieve a podium finish.

The Scots PGC College and Warwick Water Rats U13s team took out second place in the Darling Downs Super Schools Cup.

They went down 17-12 to close rivals Faith Lutheran College in a nailbiting grand final.

Water Rats secretary Tess Enchelmaier said the team’s performance was the “most equal and tough” game of rugby she’d seen, especially after a shaky start to the season.

“At the beginning of the season, we were really struggling for numbers – we only had 10 boys, so we either got flogged or had to forfeit,” Enchelmaier said.

“After the break we ended up with 24 boys, trained so well throughout the season, and I’m so proud of how they played last night – we couldn’t have asked for anything more.

“It was heartbreaking to lose in literally the last five seconds, but all of the boys echoed what I’d said in that we’ve made so much incredible progress since the beginning of the year.”

With the junior club season kicking off on October 9, Enchelmaier said the win and community support would get the Water Rats off to a flying start.

“I think some of them were a bit down at the thought of having their last game together yesterday, so they were chuffed to be able to come back next term,” she said.

“Downs Rugby has created their teenage program around those traditional sports to give rugby the best go, because they’re quite wary the kids will be playing other sports on Saturdays.

“We’re just doing everything we can now to make sure we can build the club up, to make sure it doesn’t drop off, and keep strengthening those community ties.”

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