Holly Ford stars for Central North juniors at Country Champs

Central North Junior Rugby Union lined up at the NSW Junior Country Championships and the NSW State Championships across the June long weekend and they came away with some sensational results.

Narrabri Junior Rugby Club was represented by Holly Ford in the under-18s girls, Ashley Hanslow in the under-16s girls, Kyal Seymour, Jake Foster, Nick Coffey, Angelo Afoa and Dainan Swadling in the under-16s boys as well as Mick Coffey who coached the team, Gabe O’Connor and Chayce Browning in the under-15s boys, Lachie Coffey in the under-14 boys, and Ruby Clayton in the under-14s girls. They played at various locations across the state.

Angus Irwin was set to play for the under-12s boys’ team but their games at Camden were washed out.

Holly continued to excel during what has been a fantastic year for the Narrabri 18-year-old. She made her senior debut for Gunnedah in the CNRU women’s tens competition in April and is currently the leading try-scorer with 12 in five games, while also playing her junior footy with the Blue Boars.

Playing at her fourth Junior Country Championships this year, she vice-captained Central North’s under-18s girls’ side to grand final glory and was also named the best forward of the entire tournament.

“It felt pretty good to get that one, especially because lots of people tell me I’m too small to be a forward,” the openside flanker said.

“Being vice-captain was good. When I got it, I thought that the vice-captain doesn’t really do a lot, but I feel like I did help out a lot and the coach congratulated me on how well I went at vice-captain.

“It was great to win the grand final.

“The bunch of girls were great to work with. Everyone had a smile on their face, and no one got angry at each other. It was the best weekend.”

The weekend was made even more special for Holly as her sister Elsie, who is studying to become a physiotherapist at university, was a trainer for the team.

The Central North under-18s girls’ side beat Central Coast 21-0 in their first game on Saturday before going down 10-5 against Hunter. They bounced back on Sunday morning with a 38-5 victory against Southern Country to earn another crack at Hunter in the final, and they won that match 14-5.

They then went down 24-0 against Sydney Uni and 19-7 against Two Blues in State Champs games on Monday but finished ranked third in the state.

The other Central North teams all scored wins across the weekend and did themselves and their clubs proud.

Narrabri’s senior club president and junior club vice-president/coach Mick Coffey told The Courier that the efforts of the local juniors who lined up for Central North across the three days were to be admired.

“Playing sport these days isn’t the norm for a lot of kids, but for these kids it is. They live and breathe rugby,” Coffey said.

“In recent times, we’ve had Martha and Sid Harvey and Bernard O’Connor who have been fantastic role models on and off the field and have shown that you can go places. Our juniors are aspiring to be like them.

“Rep footy isn’t cheap, and there’s a lot of commitment for parents like travel, so it’s a big effort.

“It’s just so good that so many of our kids are there and want to play. I didn’t see the other age groups, but I’m sure there are a few of our kids who would have caught the eye of country selectors and other rugby people. Whether or not that amounts to selections for higher honours, we don’t yet know, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see a couple of names pop up.

“I think it’s fabulous for Narrabri. I always say that I think that we punch above our weight.”