Queensland’s GPS rugby schools are smashing Sydney’s - here’s the proof

The GPS schoolboy competitions have long been a major development pipeline for Australian rugby. But which schools have produced the most Wallabies? New data reveals a surprising leader over the past 25 years.

Nathan Sharpe and Mat Rogers are among the Wallabies of yesteryear who have passed on their knowledge.

After the Wallabies’ landmark first Test against the British and Irish Lions in Brisbane, new data can reveal the visitors kicked off in Australian rugby’s most fertile heartland.

Queensland’s elite GPS schoolboy rugby union competition has overtaken Sydney’s AAGPS as the major development pipeline for the Wallabies.

Six of the nine leading Wallabies talent nurseries since 2000 are situated north of the Tweed.

St Joseph’s Nudgee College, 16km north of Suncorp Stadium, is officially the top producer of Wallabies in the nation since the turn of the millennium.

The college’s famous Ross Oval has been the cradle that nurtured 14 future Wallabies in that span including past captain Rocky Elsom and current players James O’Connor and Josh Flook.

Gold Coast’s The Southport School has overtaken many Brisbane and Sydney bastions of schoolboy rugby union to sit second with 13, including Test centurions in James Slipper, Nathan Sharpe and Rob Simmons.

Kilarney Lavender of The Southport School on 27 July 2024 Southport Picture by Richard Gosling

St Joseph’s College, Hunters Hill is tied for second with TSS at 13, edging ahead of Joseph Sua'ali'i’s King’s School in Parramatta with nine.

Non-GPS school Waverley College (8) is the only other NSW institution represented in the top nine.

Queensland GPS heavyweights St Joseph’s College, Gregory Terrace (8), Brisbane State High (7), Brisbane Boys’ College (7) and Anglican Church Grammar School (Churchie – 6) round out what amounts to a Maroon sweep of Australia’s top talent nurseries.

Dual-code international turned player manager Mat Rogers, who attended The Southport School, said the GPS system had grown to the point the schools are effectively professional academies.

Mat Rogers as a schoolboy in the First XV at The Southport School

“Most of the kids that we look after, the first question the clubs ask is ‘can we get them into a (GPS) school now?’” Rogers said.

“The kids that are embedded in that system two or three years prior to coming out of school understand what it takes to be a pro.

“One of the proudest statements I ever heard come out of my dad’s mouth was ‘you went to TSS a boy, you came out a man.’

“That’s what TSS particularly taught me. It taught me to grow up, to be accountable and to be a leader. That’s what they do.”

Rugby Australia president and former Wallabies captain Nathan Sharpe paid credit to Queensland Rugby Union for the state’s emergence as the nation’s top talent producer.

“I think it’s fantastic and it shows the amount of work the QRU has been doing around that, and Rugby Australia as well,” Sharpe said.

Wallabies player Nathan Sharpe walks a victory lap with his two sons following the IRB Rugby World Cup bronze final match in 2011. (AAP Image/Dave Hunt)

“That can only get better as that becomes more aligned as well. We’re trying to create not only a pathway for future Wallabies but a community of rugby-loving people who will continue to foster and grow the game in the country.

“Hats off to all those involved in Queensland. It would be great to collaborate between all the states to see how they’ve managed to put that together.”

Nathan Sharpe (L) when a The Southport School student in 1993 with John Eales receiving award for best forward U15a's.

Veteran Nudgee College director of rugby Sean Graham attributed Nudgee’s success to a counterintuitive approach in junior coach selection, alongside a boarding house brimming with diversity that enables students to “live and breathe” rugby.

While the temptation exists to throw former players into coaching roles on account of their on-field successes, Graham said Nudgee bucked that trend by installing educators into key coaching positions.

“Our program has been built over 100 years and I think the recent success is a continuation of what’s been established well before my time,” Graham said.

“I’m quite particular about the coaches we have on board here. A lot of schools and clubs will often lean into ex-players, and sometimes we will, but the point of difference at Nudgee is probably that we’re really lucky to attract teaching staff that are rugby people and want to teach at a rugby school.

“When the coaches are at school all day it creates this environment where students can just live and breathe rugby.

Australian Schoolboys vs England U18s @ Ballymore in 2007: Replacement fullback Nudgee College James O'Connor -

“I employ nearly 100 coaches in the program each year across 40 teams. Our model is have someone who’s a bit more experienced working with a younger coach, pairing someone on staff with someone external.

“A lot of thought goes into coach allocations because it’s the No.1 contributing factor to the success of a sporting program.”

Graham’s said Nudgee’s reputation as Australia’s pre-eminent rugby school saw aspiring Wallabies from across the country apply to attend.

Many pay out of their own pocket because Nudgee’s budget for financial assistance via sporting scholarships only stretches so far.

Talented teens from Dubai to Emerald to Apia and Adelaide – like current First XV captain Levi Slater – contribute to a melting pot of experience and culture on the rugby field, Graham added.

TSS First XV coach Tai McIsaac said it was a proud moment for his school to be recognised among Australia’s finest.

Originally published as Queensland’s GPS rugby schools are smashing Sydney’s - here’s the proof