On the long weekend in June Rhys Hughes made the long journey to Nelsons Bay to compete in the NSW under 13's state championships.
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It all started in February when Rhys tried out for the Southern Inland under 13's rugby side. After a lot of miles around the country side he gained a spot in the team. That was not the end of the traveling with training in Wagga and Temora and trial games at Canberra and Cowra to get the team ready for the state champs.
So then it was off to Nelsons Bay we went. Rhys's pool consisted of last years winners Parramatta, Eastwood , ACT and Hunter. Their first game was against Parramatta. To the boys credit they didn't give up in the end going down 39. Nil. Rhys got a run in the second half of this game.
The second game of the day was against the team from ACT. Rhys got to run on in this game again in the centers.
The boys held their own against a bigger well drilled side for the first half. The second half wasn't as good but to their credit didn't give up in the end going down 25-nil. The day finished off with a loss to Hunter.
Day two we had to play Eastwood and Southern Districts clubs from Sydney.
The boys confidence was growing with every game and they knew if they played as a team that they could cause an upset sooner rather than later.
Rhys started on the bench but it wasn't long before he found himself in the thick of the action packing in at breakaway. After a very entertaining game Eastwood came away with the win 21-7. Next up was Southern Districts. Not only were the boys up for this game but parents,coaches and supporters all knew this was the one we could take, Southern Inland didn't disappoint. Although it. Took till the last play of the game we got our first win claiming in 14-12. Day two was finished on a high.
The final day saw us come up against Eastwood again,they came away with the win beating us by a single try. So after a long wet weekend the boys walked of the field knowing that they did their zone,coaches and parents very proud.
Congratulations must go to Rhys, he carried himself very well over the whole weekend, representing his club with pride. Most of all the experience and friendships he has gained will last him the rest of his life after all that is what rugby is all about. Well done to Rhys for gaining selection in the U13s Southern Inland team. He was the clubs only representative this year. Also a bigger thank you to his parents Bianca and Stuart for providing motivation and a taxi to get him to coaching camps in Wagga, Canberra and to the State championship in Nelsons bay.