Rugby Union: Five Central North players selected in Country under-14s squad

Stirling Gallagher, Gus Marshall, Lawson Walsh, Ben Sawyer and Adam Davis were all selected in the 40-man under-14s squad as the youngest Kookaburras got their chance to pull on the red and white.

The under-12s, 13s and 14s championships followed on from the 15s, 16s and 18s in Armidale the previous weekend and the 14s, 16s and 18s girls at the start of the month.

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Central North juniors president Renee Park said they were really happy with the performance of the Kookaburras teams over the three weekends.

"When we started out we said a successful outcome would be to have players selected in the Country programs," she said.

It was mission accomplished on that score with a record 31 players earning Country call-ups across the seven teams (there were no squads selected for the 12s and 13s boys).

"It's the most we've had," Park said.

Of the 31, 18 are in the girls squads and 13 in the boys, the under-18 boys the only age division they didn't have any players selected.

All three sides acquitted themselves well on the weekend, and did the zone proud with their efforts, with the 14s finishing fifth, the 13s sixth and the 12s eighth.

It comes after the 18s girls and 16s boys both finished runners-up, the 14s girls third, the 16s girls fourth, the 15s boys fifth and the 18s boys seventh.

"We're looking to build on that for next year," Park said.

In the more immediate, the focus for the sides is the State Junior Championships on the June long weekend.

The zone is also in the process of selecting the under-11s teams to attend the state gala weekend in July, after holding a skills development day and squad trial in Tamworth on Sunday.

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