No rest for Ruby following Japanese rugby tour

It had been a little over two weeks since Ruby Clayton returned home from a rugby tour to Japan and it was time to hit the road again.

The talented Narrabri teenager, who is the daughter of Brett and Jodie Clayton, played at the Crescent Head 7s tournament for the Pacific Nomads under-16s girls team last weekend.

They went through the tournament undefeated and Ruby was voted as the side’s best player.

That winning feeling was a familiar one for the 14-year-old Narrabri girl after she returned home from Japan having been part of the Australian Raptors Rugby Academy’s under-14 girls’ squad that won all three of their matches on tour.

The Raptors played all three of their games across consecutive days from Saturday to Monday, January 18 to 20.

Game one was at Yokohama, the second was at the Japan Rugby base in Fukuoka, and game three was played at Kasuga Little Ruggers. Ruby’s team prevailed 22-10 in the first game, 27-5 in the second game and 22-5 in the third game.

The matches were either nine-a-side or 12-a-side fixtures, and they were played across 25-minute halves.

The Narrabri girl scored a try in the first game and set up a couple more during the tour.

“The trip was amazing,” Ruby told The Courier.

“The games were not easy games. They were intense and the Japanese girls were very fit and very quick.

“Our team were just a bit stronger and we dominated all three games.

“As a team, we gelled very quickly. All the girls; they were such a lovely bunch. As a team we played unreal.

“I learned how to play the game better and all about different cultures, and how the Japanese teams put their culture into a game.”

Ruby described representing her country and pulling on the green and gold jersey as a great experience.

“It was definitely something special and something to remember,” she said.

The Narrabri teenager is keeping herself busy on the touch footy field each week and is keenly awaiting the arrival of the 2025 campaign for the junior Blue Boars.

She also has her sights set on trials for the Central North zone and school rugby, which will kick off in the next few months.