Participants in the National Rugby Camp had the thrill of a lifetime when injured NSW Waratahs forward Angus Ta’avao turned up to teach them some skills of the sport.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Ta’avao spent the afternoon playing bull rush and handing out tips to improve their on-field techniques. He said it was great to see the kids out and brought back a few childhood memories of playing in similar carnivals.
"It brings back a few memories, I was involved in a few things like this when I was a kid and it provided a platform for me to come out and enjoy it and have professional rugby players come down and see where you could end up,” he said.
"It is also nice on my sort of side coming back and being able to give back to rugby a bit and seeing some cool talent that might be in my shoes in a few years.”
Ta’avao said he saw plenty of talent on display and it was just the “basic stuff” they need to work on.
"Most of the tackling techniques are pretty good but it is just about working together, something that I reckon I could pass on and a few microskills like passing and just attitude stuff are probably the biggest things at this age,” he said.
Ta’avao fractured his tibia in October and is aiming to make a return to the field in April. He said there is plenty of talent among the Waratahs team and they are ready for a big Super Rugby season.
"We want to make NSW proud again, it wasn't as good as we would have like it last year not making the playoffs and we have a lot of depth and a good team and we want to make ourselves proud and the fans proud,” he said.