The fruits of Illawarra rugby’s junior pathways were on display in Sydney earlier in the month, with five players competing at the under 15 Junior Gold Cup.
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Jaden Legaspi, Jack Neich and Anthony Moata'ane represented the top NSW Gen Blue side, while Tom Cusack played for NSW White and Jake Hickey for NSW Grey. Illawarra-based coaches Tony Leeder-Smith and Ian Westward were also involved in the competition.
Leeder-Smith was an assistant coach of the Gen Blue side that took out the tournament’s southern pool and he said the three boys in his side all excelled at the representative level.
"The three boys all played very well," Leeder-Smith said. “Jaden and Anthony are front rowers and they’re very good go-forward players. Jaden especially is a very good scrummager and is very good with the ball in hand. They both have a big future in front of them.
“Jack is a halfback and is a little bit like a Jack Russell, he’s a live-wire, a real sniper.”
By winning the southern pool, the boys had the opportunity to fly up to Brisbane to contest the national final against Queensland Red at Ballymore.
“We went down 17-5 to a quality side. We had plenty of opportunities to win the game, dropped the ball over the line a couple of times, but that's the way it goes sometimes.”
As under 15s, the boys have a long way to go in their rugby journey. Leeder-Smith believes there are plenty of lessons that have been learnt from the Junior Gold Cup and he’s confident that if the boys continue to work hard both on and off the field, they will be able to attain higher representative honours in the future.
“Next year is a massive year for these boys, they move into 16s and have a full nationals in Queensland. NSW Rugby will start keeping tabs on these boys now, keeping them in programs.
“If they keep going the way they are, they have massive potential. Jaden and Jack have a good attitude and work ethic, Anthony still needs to work a bit harder, but he’s getting there. Jack wants it more than anyone, he’s got that real drive.”