Search for depth

By Andrew Stackpool

Air Force rugby union, seen here trying to stop Army, will need to develop and identify talent in the off-season to replace several senior players who are moving on after this season.

Photo by Bill Cunneen

THE significant number of injuries sustained to key Air Force players over the three-week representative season has revealed the lack of depth in Air Force rugby union.

Squadron Leader Tim Anderson, the team’s operations manager, said Air Force would need to develop and identify talent in the off-season to replace several senior players who are moving on after this season.

“The team remains a very young side but shows potential for enormous development over the next two to three years.

There are certainly the makings of a very successful Air Force rugby side in this group of players and coaches. Only time will tell how well this potential is turned into results and that is out job,” SQNLDR Anderson said.

“The biggest task that we now face is finding who out there is playing rugby. We need everybody in Air Force who is playing rugby, regardless of grade, city or state, to go to the website www.airforcerugby.asn.au and register with the union. This is the only way that we will be able to build the sort of depth that we need to compete properly with Army and Navy.”

The “exciting” new winger Leading Aircraftman Michael Godfrey, from RAAF Base Richmond, was only “discovered” the day before Air Force played Army in the season.

“Under CAF’s direction, we will also be looking to reinstate the inter-base challenges that we held about 10 years ago. Hopefully these sorts of developments, combined with the prospect of touring New Zealand next year, will encourage more players to become involved,” he said.

Women’s side is chosen

THE only two Air Force women to compete at the Australian Services rugby championships have been selected for the Australian Services Rugby Union (ASRU) women’s side.

Leading Aircraftwoman Rebekah Allen, from RAAF Base East Sale, and Officer Cadet Ilka Jakitsch, from ADFA, were members of the victorious Navy women’s national XV side that defeated Army by two points on May 25.

LACW Allen is the captain of the Victorian women’s team and played outside flanker. She and OFFCDT Jakitsch will join the ASRU women’s side to compete in the southern states women’s carnival in Canberra from June 5-13.

The ASRU men play NSW Suburban on June 22 at Victoria Barracks, the Fiji Military Forces on June 25, also at Victoria Barracks, and Australian Universities at Ballymore, Queensland, on July 1.

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