NSW Waratahs U15 Academy side named for clash with Reds

Tue, Sep 13, 2022, 9:58 PM
Waratahs Media
by Waratahs Media

The NSW Waratahs U15 Academy side has been selected following the Waratahs U15s Next Gen Cup held over the weekend, to take on their counterparts the Reds in Brisbane on October 9.

The Next Gen Cup held at Camden Rugby Park showcased the best 14 and 15-year-old players in the state who were divided into five teams – Green, Blue, Red, Orange, and Yellow.

The Blue team, despite being the youngest in the competition, was undefeated throughout the weekend winning all four matches and taking out the trophy.

NSW Waratahs Pathways Coordinator Matthew Evrard was impressed with the talent on display over the weekend.

“We had the intention of going in there and selecting 23 players but ending up picking 30 due to the high level of performance across the teams,” Evrard said.

“We were incredibly impressed with the skillset displayed over the weekend, as normally with rep fixtures at this age level there is a limited amount of time to prep and gel as a team.

“Considering how young the kids were, and with only one weekend of prep, all their core skills were amazing – goal kicking, catch and pass under pressure, and speed of play.

“Normally it’s the backs that tend to stand out at the early age groups but there are some very exciting young props in this group and definitely a few to keep an eye on.

“We’ll now have a couple of training weekends and a tough time trying to trim down the numbers to finalise a 23 ahead of the match against the Reds.”

The last time the Waratahs U15s played the Reds in this age group was back in 2019, with the previous three years’ fixtures all cancelled due to COVID, and Evrard is excited to see how the squad will compare against their oldest rivals.

“We’ve had some good success this year throughout the age groups and we’re expecting the same from the U15s, but it will be a great challenge against the Reds who are always traditionally strong in this age group,” Evrard said.

Players will attend an induction session Sunday 18th September at 9 am at Waratahs HQ at the University of NSW David Philips Sports Complex.

NSW WARATAHS U15s ACADEMY SQUAD

Tamoko Berryman-Duff (NarrabeenSports High, Seaforth Raiders)

Billy Blair (St Joseph’s College, Wahroonga Tigers)

Hasani Bloomfield (Oakhill College, Hills Juniors)

Reilly Caswell (Knox Grammar School, Lindfield)

Harrison Dene (St Augustine’s College, Newport)

Kye Donohoe (Terrigal High School, Terrigal Trojans)

Darcy Emmett (All Saints College – Maitland, Maitland Blacks)

Isaac Fonua (The King’s School, Blacktown Scorpions)

Matthew Gough (St Joseph’s College, Northern Barbarians)

Angus Grover (St. Ignatius College Riverview, Lindfield)

Dylan Hall (Knox Grammar, Lindfield)

Tom Hartman (St Ignatius College Riverview, Mosman)

Thomas Haslam (Knox Grammar School, St Ives)

Jarryd King (Newington College, Randwick Warriors)

Ashton Large (The Scots College, Campbelltown Harlequins)

Sione-Nau Lua (Georges River Grammar, Oatley)

Max Laverty (The Scots College, Clovelly Juniors)

Beau McKee (Narrabeen Sports High School, Manly Savers)

Caleb McRae (Warners Bay High School, Wanderers)

CormacMooney (Newington College, Oatley)

Jarvis Orr (Knox grammar, Terrigal Trojans)

Nashawn Papalii (Wyong High School, Ourimbah Razorbacks)

Ben Sawyer (Calrossy Anglican School)

Daryus Sione (The Hills Sports High School, Penrith RSL)

TJ Talaileva (Hunter Sports High School, Southern Beaches)

Christian Tapau-Moors(Patrician Brothers College, Blacktown, Penrith RSL)

Justice Taumoepeau (St Joseph’s College, Oatley Junior)

Nathaniel Tolu (West High School, Penrith RSL)

Iliyaz Viliamu (Newington College, Randwick Warriors)

Lewis Wilson (Saint Augustine’s College, Newport Juniors)

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