Warialda Public School takes out rugby union state finals
In a remarkable story of resilience and spirit, a primary school footy team from NSW’s drought stricken North West has just taken out the state title.
NSW
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They belong to a school of fewer than 200 students and their community is in the grip of devastating drought, but that did not stop these young kids from claiming an astonishing victory at the State Rugby championships on Wednesday.
The under 13’s team from Warialda Public School travelled nine hours on a bus to Sydney to play in the NSW PSSA State Rugby finals and, though excited to be participating, were not expected to take out the competition.
But that’s exactly what they did.
The school’s coach and principal, Dan van Velthuizen, said the achievement feels surreal. “It is such a massive achievement, it’s hard to believe it’s real,’’ he said. “From a school of only a couple hundred kids, we were up against schools that had enormous numbers.’’
Mr van Velthuizen said getting through one of NSW’s most devastating droughts had given the boys the inner strength to compete.
“Our kids are a tough bunch, they fought hard. They were under a lot of pressure but we had a lot of support that helped us get over the line.”
Their cheer squad on the day were students from North Rocks Public School, who have been sending drought care packages of toys and chocolates to their country counterparts for the past 12 months.
“We were lucky that North Rocks public school sent a bus load of about 60 students to cheer us on, who had been supporting us through the drought,” Mr van Velthuizen said.
“Our community has been pretty devastated by the drought and they have been amazingly generous.
“They were cheering us on the whole time, singing war cries and they really got us over the line.” Also there to lend his support was teammate Darcy Mitchel, who was injured in a farming accident just weeks ago. Darcy was wheeled out onto the field to join in the celebrations. “Darcy still able to be a part of the team and it lifted everyones spirits having him there,” Mr van Velthuizen said.
Sam Hall, 11, who played hooker, said they could not have won the comp without all the support.
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“I think part of the reason we won was because North Rocks Public School were there,” he said. “We also played well as a team, our defence was good and we didn’t lose our heads when the pressure was on.”
Mr van Velthuizen’s son, Os, said winning the championships was a dream come true.
Warialda, in North West NSW between Moree and Inverell, has a population of fewer than 1200 people.