Angus in the lineout.
It isn’t often that the chance comes up to play for your country in your chosen sport. But that is exactly what happened for Angus Crockford, son of Ben and Kelsey and grandson of Michael Crockford of Boorowa did when he turned out for the Australian Raptors U16s side where the Aussies won all five matches against their US opponents.
Angus goes to school in Goulburn, however his family has strong ties to the region.
He has taken to Rugby Union over the last couple of years, working hard and knocking down to prepare his body for the vigorous contact sport.
He told the Boorowa Times, “I tried out for the Australian Raptors Academy team and we trained for a few weeks. At the start of December we flew over to San Fransisco and were there for a few nights. We played one game of rugby there, then moved down to Los Angeles and played a couple more games there and then went to San Diego and played the last two games there. We won all five games.
“It was the first Raptors men’s team to win all of their games, which was really cool.
“The last day we drove back up to Los Angeles and flew out from LAX.
The compact series of games has helped fast track Angus’ football career where he plays mostly number 8 for his school but was more than happy to play there and in the second row for the Raptors.
“It was a really good experience.
“A few years ago I gave rugby a bit of a crack and the first year I did it, it was alright and then I started playing in High School and that’s when it really took off for me.
“I had some good mates around me and I started enjoying it more and more and started joining some more Rep teams and academies such as this one and really fell in love with the sport.
“I play in the Under 16s, but some of the teams we were playing were a mix of 16s, 17s and 18s.
“I normally play number 8 in my school side but I’m happy to filter between the second row and the back row where the side needed me during the games.
“I have a bit of experience in a few different positions, my favourite being Number 8 right at the back of the scrum.
Angus and many of his team mates were taken aback by the skill set and passion of the US players, many of whom had a sound knowledge of the game.
“It was really good. They were a lot better than what we expected. We thought rugby wasn’t really as big over there and we would walk over them, but it was a bit of a challenge. Each game was quite challenging to us all.
“It was really good versing them and being able to compare them to some of the teams that we play here. The players in the squad came from all around NSW. A lot of the boys were from up north like Port Macquarie and Armidale. There were a few from the Illawarra and also the region here as well.
“It was an awesome experience and I’d definitely to it again if the opportunity arises. It was really good getting out there and meeting a new group of boys playing rugby in a foreign country and meeting people over there. You get connections with everyone and you get a different view of the sport and it was a really great experience. I loved it, every bit of it. “Dad (Ben) was at school here and grew up in Boorowa and grandfather (Michael) is still here. He lives just on the edge of town.
Ben said, “Angus is quite passionate about his rugby union and this opportunity arose and it is something that you can’t pass up for a young fella to get out and see the world and he had to grab the opportunity while it was there.
“The trip was for 14 days with a day of travel each way, but for both Chelsea and myself it was a bit daunting letting the boy go away for the first time, pretty near to the other side of the world, but the Academy run a really tight ship and had a good bunch of coaches and managers running that. Everyone had a great time and came away undefeated and it was a really good outcome. The sky could be the limit for Angus as he continues his rugby journey.
All pre tour training was held at Wollongong University with the following games played in order. Played against – (location) California Grizzlies (San Francisco) – 26-33 to the Raptors. RFCLA (LA) – 24-33 to the Raptors. Cathedral College High School (San Diego) – 3-40 to the Raptors. San Diego Leigion (SAN Diego) 7-21 to the Raptors. RFCLA (San Diego) 5-7 to the Raptors. First men’s tour team from the academy to be undefeated on tour. Raptors were U16 and all games played against teams that are mixed U16-U18.
Photos by Ashleigh Bateman – Exist Im-ages.www.existim-ages.com
