Bond recently played host to more than 260 of the nation’s most talented young rugby players when the National School Boys and Girls Rugby Sevens took place here on the University’s sporting fields.
While the world’s best Sevens teams were battling it out at Skilled Park at the iRB World Series Rugby Sevens on October 12th and 13th, these talented teens were giving the appreciative crowd here at Bond a sneak preview of the next generation of World Sevens players.
From 8:30am to 2:30pm each day, competition games ran continuously, allowing for a lot of fantastic, fast-paced rugby to be showcased. At the conclusion of each day, all players and officials moved across to Skilled Stadium where the grand final for both the girls and boys was played, as an integrated part of the iRB World Series Tournament.
The schoolgirl’s final match made for thrilling viewing, with Queensland Red up against NSW Blue. Despite a fantastic effort by Queensland, NSW put on a strong finish to win the championship 22 to 10.
Meanwhile, in the schoolboy’s final heat, local sporting giants - The Southport School and Keebra Park SHS – went head-to-head for the schoolboy’s championship title. While The Southport School put up a great fight, Keebra SHS showed impeccable rugby skills, finishing on top of the ladder with a final game score of 24 to 10.
In addition to hosting the matches here on campus, Bond also held two information evenings for the students and their families. During these sessions, players were given insight into the unique structure and opportunity offered through the Diploma of Sports Management program at Bond, as well as information regarding the prestigious John Eale’s scholarship, which was announced earlier this year.
Bond’s Pro Vice-Chancellor Pathways and Partnerships, Catherine O’Sullivan, said the events that took place on campus over the Ruby Sevens weekend greatly strengthened the University’s ongoing partnership with Australian Rugby Union (ARU).
“The National School Rugby Sevens competition provided us with a fantastic platform to engage with our students here on campus before heading across to the iRB Sevens at Skilled Park,” Ms O’Sullivan said.
Bond students gathered on the rugby fields Saturday morning fully decked out in their fancy dress attire, with Alex Kinlock and Chris Blakey taking home a $2,000 slushie machine, kindly donated by local company Essential Brands for ‘best dressed students’.
“The overarching goal of Bond’s partnership with ARU is to create gold-medal performances for the Men’s and Women’s Sevens teams in the 2016 Olympic Games and the 2018 Commonwealth Games here on the Gold Coast,” Ms O’Sullivan said.
“By being able to integrate the National School Boys and Girls competition into the iRB World Sevens Series, we’ve taken one big step closer to achieving this goal.”