Three junior teams from the Far South Coast are competing over February 17 and 18 at the Tathra Beach Country Club, including the inaugural appearance of the junior boys squad, the Far South Coast Barbarians.

Club patron and Classic Wallaby Gary Pearse is preparing for a exciting day on the sidelines. 

“It’s great fun to watch, really fast paced, skills based rugby,” he said.

“The whole day is set off by a carnival atmosphere, so it’s the perfect chance for people to get a taste for the sport.”

He was looking forward to the Far South Coast Barbarians first match.

“It’s great to have the junior boys play under our wing this weekend,” he said.

“In most cases you have girls wanting to break into boys sports, but we’ve flipped that on it’s head, it shows that our girls are real trailblazers.”

The Barbarians squad is made up of players from right along the coast, including Eden, Tathra, Bega, Candelo, Moruya and Broulee. 

Far South Coast Falcons coach Scott Harris said it was great to see players from the region united under one banner. 

“We had a Bega High team last year, but this year we reached out to players from right along the coast,” he said.

“We want to represent the different towns they have come from, so each player will wear his local footy team’s socks and shorts paired with the Falcons jersey.”

The Barbarians will play off against Canberra teams Uni North Owls and Tuggeranong Vikings and the Jindabyne Bush Pigs. 

“It’s great to see the boys and girls playing under the same club name this year, they’re helping the day come together and representing their whole region in the process,” Mr Harris said. 

Mr Pearse said the teams were driven to success by their coach Mr Harris.

“We’re so lucky to have his enthusiasm and ability available to the young players in our area,” he said.

“He promotes a culture of care among the team and that is what gives them their winning edge in these competitions. 

“They have fantastic skills, but they succeed because they’re looking after each other on the field.”

Mr Pearse said there is no ceiling for the girls team, who are entering the sevens competition as ACT & SNSW Girls Rugby 10s 2017 premiers.

“There are 2.5 million female rugby players registered around the world, so there is so much potential to travel and grow and improve their skills,” he said. 

The boys team will kick off The South Coast 7s competition this Saturday, February 17, at 10am followed by the girls on Sunday 18.