Rugby union players Emily Hall, Katelyn Hall, Pip Kettlewell, Grace Sullivan and Ellie Fleming competed with the Illawarra team for the under 15’s A side rugby state champions.

The July 9, 10 and 11 competition, held in Concord, was tough for the players, but they played their best and were crowned runner ups. 

It has been a successful year for the junior sports stars who tried out for the Illawarriors last year.

The past few months have seen the girls compete in Hong Kong where they came fourth.

They also walked away from the NSW country state champions undefeated. 

The Illawarriors were undefeated in four of their five games over the long weekend.

The team took on Gordon and walked away with an outstanding 41-0 victory which was a great start to their competition weekend.

Illawarriors went head to head with West Harbour and was defeated 25-5 by their opposition.

Randwick-Parramatta were defeated 15-10 by Illawarriors.

Illawarriors were defeated 35-15 by West Harbour.

Illawarriors were once again defeated in the finals by West Harbour with a loss of 29-5.

Bowral Blacks ruby union player Emily Hall said the team’s defence was what gave them a high advantage over their competition in the three games they won.

She admitted same games were harder than others, though.

“In the games against West Harbour, it was a tough competition,” Emily said.

“We started to tire out and that really affected our performance.”

Parent and spectator Karen Fleming said the great defeats came as a result of the girls working together.

“They played as a team and always support each other,” Fleming said.

Although winning the runner up title wasn’t enough to get the girls selected into the NSW country side, they were proud of their efforts. 

The Bowral Blacks players will join hands with the Illwarriors again.

They will compete with the team on July 1 for a competition in Canberra.