City v Country junior rugby: City’s Jackson Lill training under Olympic sprinter Melinda Gainsford-Taylor
He’s a schoolboy speedster with big ambitions in rugby and hoping to fast track his success with some specialist help from a famous Australian Olympian.
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Jackson Lill is hoping his rivals will blink and miss him.
The teenager is relying on his blistering speed helping fast track him in the game he loves and wants to do as a profession,
And he has a big gun in his corner helping in triple Olympians and one of Australia’s best known sprinters Melinda Gainsford-Taylor.
“I wanted to do everything I could to make myself a better player,’’ said northern beaches player Lill, who will turn out for City against Country in the U18 match at Bathurst on Sunday.
“So now I do a lot of sprint training two days a week with Melinda.
“She has really helped me speed up.
“I used to be fast at the start, hit my full speed straight away. She has taught me how to maintain the speed. My posture and technique has really improved as well.’’
Lill is a Warringah Rat in his final year at St Paul’s Catholic College Manly and also working as a plumber’s apprentice.
“My dad got me into it, he showed me how to play when I was about four and I just fell in love with it,’’ said Lill, who lives at Cromer.
“Now the goal is to be a professional player.
“I never made a lot of rep teams … I am a bit of a late bloomer, I was always pretty skinny.
“Now I am tall enough but trying to fill out.’’
His regimen in the gym and work on nutrition has seen him bulk up four kilos in the last three months.
“I’m pretty serious abut all this and Sunday’s game,’’ he said.
“It’s our last junior game. We need to turn some heads. We want to get our names out there.’’
CITY V COUNTRY JUNIOR RUGBY MATCH TIMES
8.15am: U14 B Tim Gavin Shield, Sydney U14 Boys v NSW Country U14 Boys
9.25am: U14 G Sponsors Plate, Sydney U14 Girls v NSW Country U14 Girls
10.35am: U15 B Steve Tuynman Cup, Sydney U15 Boys v NSW Country U15 Boys
11.45am: U16 G Mahalia Murphy Shield, Sydney U16 Girls v NSW Country U16 Girls
12.55pm: U16 B Ella Cup, Sydney U16 Boys v NSW Country U16 Boys
2.15pm: U18 G Grace Hamilton Shield, Sydney U18 Girls v NSW Country U18 Girls
3.25pm: U18 B Michael Brial Cup, Sydney U18 Boys v NSW Country U18 Boys
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