GPS rugby back as TSS ‘cowboys’ head west to take on bush brethren up the range
SATURDAY’s GPS rugby return will prove a homecoming of sorts for the country boarders who make up the beating pulse of The Southport School’s First XV forward pack.
The Southport to Toowoomba Grammar School road trip is the longest journey in the competition at 176.5km but even that is a blink of the eye for TSS forwards Hunter Dalzell (Tamworth), Harry Wells (Moree), Jock McCormack (Glenmorgan) and Xavier Smith-Power (Goondiwindi).
The second-row and back-row “cowboys” hail from country towns a combined 1438km from home away from home on the Gold Coast.
The Covid-19 sporting shutdown forced the abandonment of four weeks of competition, which meant the GPS trophy would not be raised for the first time since World War II.
For Glenmorgan’s Jock McCormack, raised 431km west of TSS, the chance to play for bragging rights against old mates in Toowoomba soothed the pain of losing out on a title race.
“I’m only a couple of hours away from Toowoomba so it’s good,” he said.
“I’ve got a heap of mates from home who do go to Toowoomba. It’s kind of the main school that everyone around me usually goes to.”
Lock Hunter Dalzell said the boarders’ country connection added camaraderie into the mix when taking the field together.
“There’s definitely a bit of camaraderie in it,” said the student from Tamworth, 548km from TSS. “We’re all boarders so we all live together. “Jock and I have been through a lot over the years. “We all live together and annoy each other, so it’s good to play with each other.”
TSS will start favourite against TGS.