Trio’s national call-up
Deaf players to tour South Africa for three-way series
They“bring a great dynamic to the team
Three North Queensland deaf rugby players have been selected in the Australian side to tour South Africa after successful trials in Dapto.
Paul Thaiday, Royden Chatfield and Robert Dalton would be well-known to Townsville’s rugby community after training with Teachers West in February to prepare for the trials.
Big bopper Shadrach SalesGraham also trained in Townsville and trialled for national selection but narrowly missed out on a call-up.
Thaiday, Chatfield and Dalton were three of six Queensland players selected for Australia. They will travel to
Johannesburg in early August to take on South African Deaf and England Deaf in a threeway series.
Australian Deaf Rugby coach Dave Kearsey said the trio had earned their place in the team with impressive trials.
“I love those guys. Paul Thaiday is the only one making his debut, the other two have played for Australia before and travelled to Argentina last year,” Kearsey said.
“All three of them are deserving of their spots and I’m sure once they’ve got the Australian jersey on, they won’t let anyone down.
“I hope they make the North Queensland community proud and definitely their families proud as well.
“We’re pretty familiar with both the England and South Africa sides and they’re very, very strong sides but I believe with these three included we’re taking the strongest ever team on tour to a tournament so I’m very confident that these guys and the rest of the team will get the job done.”
Kearsey said that the Queenslanders’ contributions off the field were just as important as the hard work they do on it.
“They bring a great dynamic to the team with both their skills on the field and just as importantly they’re lovely guys off the field as well,” he said.
“They fit into the culture of the Australian deaf rugby side.
“Like many in the side, they were dealt an unlucky hand in life with their hearing disability.
“But this is a great opportunity for them to represent their communities and families and the Australian deaf community.”
As well as taking on some of the world’s best deaf rugby players, the squad will enjoy the typical delights of an international tour.
“It will be a full tour with full national representative honours and there’ll be plenty of chances to see some lions and other sightseeing sort of stuff,” Kearsey said. “It’ll be a great experience for the three boys from North Queensland. They get to see some African wilderness but we’re obviously there to do a job and I believe these guys will help do it.
“Outside of (the rugby), it’s just as important to be a good life experience for them as well and I’m sure it will be a bit of a once in a lifetime experience for all three of them.”
Dave Kearsey Australian Deaf Rugby coach