Three Yass Junior Rugby Union Club Rams played their 100th game on the weekend at Victoria Park, reaching the milestone in spectacular fashion by defeating Daramalan 54-5.
Declan Gourlay, Declan Cooke and Samuel Leighton of the Under 14s side, all ran out onto the park for the 100th time for the Club.
Loose Head Prop Declan Gourlay has played for the Rams since 2016 and was a recipient of the Junior Achievement Award in 2021 for playing for six years. He also represented South Coast Monaro Junior Rugby in 2021.
Scrum-half Declan Cooke has played for the Club since 2014 and was a member of the ACT Junior Under 12s Rugby Union Training Squad in 2021. Cooke also received a Junior Achievement Award in 2021 for playing for six years.
Flanker Samuel Leighton is also a recipient of a Junior Achievement Award in 2021 for playing for six years, joining the Rams in 2016. Samuel has been a South Coast Monaro Junior Rugby Representative for the last three years, playing for the side in 2021, 2022, and 2023.
Under 14s Rams Coach Josh Leighton (and Samuel’s dad), spoke to The Times on behalf of the three boys and highlighted their commitment to the Rams.
“Declan Cooke has played scrumhalf most of his career and has been a great player. Declan Gourlay has played lots of positions and has vice-captained the side in previous years. Samuel Leighton has been captain for the last four years,” Josh said.
“All three milestone boys played really well on the weekend. They are very consistent all the time and it was good to get the win.
“I organised a cake for the boys and we had a small presentation of a 100-game certificate for them. We had a good day on Saturday celebrating the three boys and we stuck around for a while after the game.
“Last year we went through the whole season undefeated and ended up winning the grand final in division 2. This year, they moved us up into division 1 but we’re on track again for another grand final win. We’ve had three wins, a draw, and four losses this season.”
Congratulations Declan, Samuel, and Declan for reaching a fantastic milestone. Here’s to 100 more games!
Tim Warren
