13/02/2025
With Camden Rugby Club hosting the Macarthur Tens Tournament tomorrow, we would like to share a brief history of Tens Rugby at Camden with you:
The Camden Rugby Club hosted a Schoolboys Tens Competition from 2002 to 2008.
It provided an opportunity for the Club to recruit many of our Junior players. The likes of Jarred Kelly, Cameron Luke, Toby Quelch, and a host of others were first introduced to Rugby at this event. In the inaugural event each player was given a T-Shirt for representing.
It also allowed many of our existing Juniors including Rhys and Brady Miller, Andrew and Ben Black and Matthew Johnson to not only play but to convince their mates that Rugby was the game to play.
The Junior organisers at the time Debbie Poser and Sue Black took down the contact details of every player, then followed up by writing to and inviting each and every one of them to
play Juniors with Camden.
By the mid to late 2000s Camden could boast having over 180 Juniors including two U15 teams and two U17 teams. Participating schools over the years included Elderslie HS, Camden HS, Elizabeth Macarthur HS, Picton HS, Macarthur Anglican, Hurlstone Agricultural HS, and Illawarra Sports HS.
The competition peaked at 14 competing teams with 8 from Elderslie HS in 2006. The Deputy at Elderslie HS was none too happy when over 120 student players, 8 teacher coaches and about 20 girls (strappers, water runners and touch judges) were in attendance on one school day from the one school.
It proved so successful that the NSW Rugby Development Officer took over its organisation.
The present Macarthur Tens Competition commenced in 2016 and has steadily built up from 8 competing teams in inaugural years.
This years Macarthur Tens will be held at Camden Rugby Park on Saturday, 15th February.
Researched, compiled and written by Peter McBride.
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