The future of ACT rugby looks to be in safe hands as the ACT Brumbies U18s have faced off against the Melbourne Rebels and the Western Force Academy sides over the last week, in a brilliant showcase of junior rugby.
With the Rebels first up, the boys headed down to Harlequin’s Rugby Club in Melbourne to take on their Victorian counterparts on 1 July. It was a slog from both teams as they went toe to toe in a resilient game of rugby.
Tries to Bailey Bouquiaux, Toby Perrin and Dylan Bretton kept the Brumbies in the fight, however the side ultimately going down 22-19.
Undeterred by the loss, the Brumbies had a quick turnaround as they faced the Western Force on 5 July at St Edmunds College in Canberra.
With a large and enthusiastic Brumbies crowd flooding into the Owen’s Oval stand, the home side put on a dominant performance as they landed blow after blow against the Force.
The Brumbies pressure around the ruck was superb and they were often rewarded for it as they continued to work together and stay solid in defence, conceding just the one try all game.
Bailey Bouquiaux led the charge with some crunching one on one tackles that you could feel from the stands.
The Brumbies side, led by Head Coach Paul Mead, never took the foot off the pedal as they continued to pile on more points through crafty ball movement and strong running down the wings.
There were plenty of great tries from Luke Black, Deveraux Tapelu, Dylan Bretton, Joey Henry and Shane Wilcox, but it was a sensational chip and chase try from Silas Pilot that had the crowd in awe.
Not long after, Shane Wilcox closed out the game with a thumping 40m penalty goal as the Brumbies came away with a 44-7 win.
