Sid Harvey lines up for NSW Waratahs junior team

Sid Harvey made a massive statement when he lined up for NSW Waratahs White against Queensland Reds Grey in an under-18s academy match at Ballymore Stadium in Brisbane on Saturday as he played a leading role in guiding his side to a thrilling one-point victory.

The 17-year-old junior Blue Boar set up the first try of the game in the fourth minute and then kicked the match-winning penalty goal with three minutes left as the NSW boys prevailed 26-25.

That was one of two games played as the Waratahs beat the Reds 38-7 in a clash of the under-18s squads’ first XVs.

Sid, who is the son of Narrabri’s Denis and Carmel Harvey, ran out in the number 15 jersey in game one and played the entire 70 minutes at fullback following a week in camp at Waratahs HQ in Sydney after he was named in the squad on Friday, June 23.

NSW White trailed 22-13 on the hour-mark but scored a converted try with just under 10 minutes to go to reduce its deficit to two points.

The visitors earned a penalty soon after, and despite the two goal-kickers having left the field, they opted to go for the three points and threw the ball to Sid.

He nailed the conversion to make the score 23-22, but the Queensland team hit back a minute later with a penalty goal of its own to reclaim the lead as the score became 25-23.

NSW White won another penalty with three minutes to go, and again it was Sid who stepped up to take it.

He showed great calmness under pressure to slot the goal from 22 out and 15 in from touch to put his team ahead 26-25.

The Narrabri boy and his teammates were then forced to defend their way to victory and they got the job done as they prevailed by a point.

Sid was quite modest after the match when summarising his own performance.

“I think I went alright,” he said.

“I got on the back of a neat little set play we’d been working on all week, got the ball down the right-hand side and got away an offload for the first try.

“It was good to get involved early, it gave me a bit of confidence. I was calm after that.

“I had a couple of shocking kicks and a missed tackle but I went alright, I think.

Narrabri teenager Sid Harvey pictured at Waratahs HQ in Sydney last week during a NSW Waratahs under-18s academy training session. Photo: NSW Waratahs

“It was up there (with one of the hardest games he’d ever played in). It was very fast and everyone was crisp.

“The whole week’s training prepared me for it. I was a little bit off the pace there on Monday and Tuesday. I had to get used to training at such a high level. I got there eventually, I think.

“I know I learnt a lot from the week.”

Sid thought he had become a better player after coming into contact with what he described as some top-class coaches during the week.

First up after his selection into the squad was an induction, testing and a kit presentation at the Waratahs HQ Saturday, June 24.

They trained on the Monday and Tuesday and then the Thursday and Friday, either side of a rest day, before flying into Queensland on Saturday morning for game day.

Selection into the squad was a goal of Sid’s, one that he had identified at the beginning of the year. Like many aspiring sportsmen and women from the bush, he and his family have had to make sacrifices in order to travel great distances to play and train.

One of those sacrifices for Sid was taking a step back in the rep cricket arena to put his focus and energy into his rugby.

He said that those sacrifices and the hard work he has put in this year felt like they had really paid off after the squad was announced and he lined up on Saturday.

However, he is not content to play just that one game for the Waratahs’ under-18 side and is now determined to earn selection into the academy squad again later in the year for their next meeting against the Queensland Reds in September.

Before then, he will take part in the City v Country under-18s clash in Maitland on Sunday, July 23. Sid was the vice-captain of the Country side that beat City 38-7 in Bathurst last year, and he wants to go back-to-back in 2023 when he competes alongside his cousin and fellow junior Blue Boar Bernard O’Connor and the rest of their teammates.

The 2023 North West Regional Youth Rugby Friday night under-18s comp is currently in a holiday break, but Sid and his junior Blue Boars teammates cannot wait to get back into it later this month.

They are ranked second place on the ladder following five victories from seven matches and they have scored the most points of any team in the competition.

They went down 13-12 against the top-ranked side Farrer in their most recent outing, but are just five points behind them and are determined to get above them come the end of the season.

“We’re up there with Farrer, we just need to get everyone to training and get those combinations locked down,” he said.

“We want to win the premiership this year.”