GPS Rugby 2019: BBC flanker Zac Hough is competition’s most dynamic forward

“We were doing a simple contact drill, only for 15 minutes, but when I saw him I just thought wow – this kid reminds me of Ardie Savea,” Brisbane Boys’ College coach Shane Drahm said.

Zac Hough was a skinny teen who might have been fourth-in-line for Brisbane Boys College’s No.2 jersey if his cards fell the right way.

BBC coach Shane Drahm had never seen the Grade 10 kid before he arrived for a First XV training camp.

He knew his story, a bit.

BBC's Zac Hough scores vs Ipswich Grammar School. Picture: AAP Image/Josh Woning)

New South Wales Country Under-14s. BBC 15As. From Kempsey, near Port Macquarie.

Hough had only been invited to camp because his 16As side weren’t doing much over the June/July school holidays and an extra body to hold the tackle bags couldn’t hurt.

“We were doing a simple contact drill, only for 15 minutes, but when I saw him,” Drahm said, “I just thought wow – this kid looks alright.

“Seeing him in that drill reminded me of (All Blacks flanker) Ardie Savea and the way he plays …. very dynamic, pumping those legs through contact.

“He was a massive longshot of course - after not being in the squad, to a 15 minute training drill and half a game, we selected him in our first game.”

Brisbane Boys' College coach Shane Drahm says Hough reminds him of All Blacks star Ardie Savea. Picture: AAP/Richard Waugh.

And so began his transition to playing on the side of the scrum.

Many schools wouldn’t have considered Hough at halfback, let alone start him in the backrow of a Premiership contender.

Weighing in around 80 kilograms and standing just 177cm tall, Hough is almost certainly the smallest forward in GPS rugby.

His knack for finding himself in the right position to stretch defences to breaking point has since proven a key weapon in BBC’s race to the title.

In six matches the wide-running flanker has scorched defences for eight linebreaks, the most of any forward in the competition.

He is still a raw prospect but his taste of First XV rugby in 2019 will only make him better for the experience in 2020 and 2021, his final season of eligibility.

Hough has broken the defensive line eight times in 2019 - more than any other forward. Picture: AAP/Richard Waugh

Cluey Queensland selectors have cottoned on to the backrow prospect and have begun the process of dying his blue roots maroon with his selection in the State Under-16s team.

Hough will travel to Canberra alongside fellow BBC talents Taj Annan and Mason Gordon to compete in the Junior Rugby Championships during the September school holidays.

Before then, BBC must defeat rivals Nudgee College at Ross Oval on Saturday if they are any hope to share the GPS premiership with The Southport School.

BBC will be desperate for the win because beating Nudgee would at worst clear a path to second on the ladder, where the Toowong school have not finished since 1999.

IGS' Sam Walker tackled by BBC flanker Zac Hough. Picture: AAP Image/Josh Woning

GPS RUGBY LEADING POINT-SCORERS

1. Hamish Roberts (TSS) – 140

2. Reesjan Pasitoa (NC) – 67

3. Seamus King-Smith (IGS) – 41

=. Quinn Siolo (GT) – 41

5. Daniel Muller (NC) – 40

=. Trezman Banjo (NC) – 40

=. Jojo Fifita (TSS) – 40

LEADING TRY-SCORERS

1. Hamish Roberts (TSS) – 10

2. Daniel Muller (NC) – 8

=. Trezman Banjo (NC) – 8

=. Jojo Fifita (TSS) – 8

5. Seamus King-Smith (IGS) - 5

=. Glen Vaihu (GT) - 5

=. Ngiyaani Waters (TSS) - 5