Darling Downs rugby sevens team wins Queensland junior state titles

The Downs Rugby Under 15 girls are the toast of the city after winning an historic state title. Here’s our look at how they made their mark, including the five players who led them to success.

History was made as the Darling Downs Under-15 girls rugby sevens team took home the region’s first ever junior state championship on Saturday after a dominant tournament where they won all five games.

Darling Downs coach Craig Coetez was impressed with his side’s ability to stay in the game and their tenacity when the odds were against them.

“The first time we played Brisbane we gave them a 10-point start and came back at them to win 19-15,” he said.

“When we played them in the final, we scored first, but they came back with two tries.”

Brisbane seemed destined to take out the championship as it scored to take a 15-10 lead with just one minute on the clock.

However, the Darling Downs girls pulled off a miracle comeback to claim the title.

The Darling Downs Under-15 girls side celebrate after winning the 2023 Queensland Rugby Union Junior State Championships.

“With a minute to go our girls could have given up, but they (Brisbane) kicked to us and literally two movements later we scored under the poles,” Coetez said.

“So that was 15-all and with no time on the clock we had to get the conversion and we kicked the conversion to win.”

The region’s talent was on full display as there were two teams in the U15 competition: one made up of U15 players which went on to win the competition and another with U14 players, which finished fourth overall after suffering a 10-0 defeat in the semi-final to their U15 counterparts.

Coetez coached both of the Darling Downs sides in the competition and was delighted with the performances from both teams.

“The depth and talent on the Darling Downs, especially coming from the younger age groups is just exceptional,” he said.

“All the other regions are extremely envious of what we have got ahead of us.”