Former junior Blue Boar earns selection for Western Australia’s under-18s team

Narrabri will once again be represented on the national rugby union stage when former junior Blue Boar Zoe Watkins travels to the Sunshine Coast to compete at the Australian Schools and Juniors Rugby Union Championships next week.

The 17-year-old halfback will play for Western Australia’s under-18s girls’ team at the event and is eager to showcase her skills against the best young talent from across the country.

There will be sevens and XVs formats played at the tournament from Monday, July 7 to Sunday, July 13, and Zoe will feature for WA in the XVs division.

There are six teams in total in her division, which include Queensland Country, Brisbane City, Sydney Juniors, NSW Country and South Australia.

Zoe and her family departed Narrabri in 2023 and the teenager was immediately on the hunt for a new rugby club after farewelling the junior Blue Boars. She found a home at the Mandurah Pirates and for the past two seasons has played in the senior women’s team.

Zoe’s game has gone to another level since the move, and last year she was named in Western Australia’s under-18s squad. She did not make the final team to travel to the Australian Championships tournament, but she persisted despite the disappointment.

She again lined up in the regional games that were held back in March to trial for a spot on the training squad, which she was again selected for when it was announced in April. The squad continued to train twice a week after being named and Zoe was informed last month that her hard work and dedication had paid off as she had made the squad that will play at Sunshine Coast Stadium from next Tuesday.

She is ready to tackle the new challenge head-on and told The Courier she could not wait to line up against some of the country’s best young players.

“Playing for Western Australia has been a goal from the start since I got here. I wanted to put in all my effort and achieve something,” she said.

“It is definitely a big relief and it gets me out of my own head about my skills.

“I was hurt when I didn’t make it last year. It was probably wrong of me, but I felt kind of done with rugby at that point, but I’m definitely happy that I decided to keep playing and achieve this.

“I can’t wait. It will be a good challenge against some really good players.

Zoe and her parents Chris and Christina said that her junior coaches from Narrabri deserved plenty of thanks and credit for helping her get as far as she has in the sport.

She started playing carnival rugby in under-12s and advanced into the Friday Night Regional Youth divisions, and she said that Mark Fielder, Bob Ford and Denis Harvey were instrumental in her love of the game and development.