It’s early days yet as a sports school, but Eagle Vale High’s rugby league production line is chugging along quite nicely.
Four of its teams were put to the test on Tuesday when the grand old Group 6 rugby league club Campbelltown City Kangaroos hosted four matches between Eagle Vale and Illawarra Sports High School.
The matches were played at Fullwood Reserve, Claymore, which is located very close to the Eagle Vale school.
The U13 and U15 boys, and the U13 and U14 girls teams from Eagle Vale gave an excellent account of themselves, considering they’re in the first year of a sports school program.
Eagle Vale High was last year admitted to the sports high school association, which runs a schools rugby league competition that covers a big chunk of greater Sydney metropolitan area and north and south along the coast of NSW.
There are finals and a grand final as part of the format.
Alex Melville, “part of the furniture’’ at the Kangaroos and currently club secretary, is also a teacher at Illawarra Sports High School, and he helped organize the day.
“A fantastic day’s rugby league today with the Roos hosting clashes between the locals, Eagle Vale High School and Illawarra Sports High School,’’ he posted on the club’s social media.
“Eagle Vale High, in their first year as a sports school, were highly impressive in winning the U/13 Boys game 20-18 and the U/13 Girls game 36-0.
“Illawarra were a bit too good in the U/14 girls, but the Eagle Vale SHS girls won many admirers in trying all the way to the end.
“In the U/15 Boys, the ESHS gave the rep-studded Illawarra team a huge shock, entering the sheds up 22-18 at halftime. The experienced Illawarra team ended up prevailing 34-22, but they certainly headed down Mount Ousley pretty sore and sorry after a very physical encounter,’’ Mr Melville wrote.