Many schools must make do with playing jerseys that have passed their best days but a Maitland Junior Rugby Union initiative is helping to change that.
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The Blacks have split the cost of providing new jerseys with Maitland Grossmann High School and Bolwarra Public School and has plans to help other schools.
Next year it will outfit East Maitland Public School and the offer is open to any school in the Maitland area that is willing to wear the Blacks’ emblem on the new jerseys.
“They can use them for rugby union, rugby league and even touch football,” Maitland Junior Rugby Union vice-president Steve Thomson said.
“A lot of these boys and girls [at Bolwarra Public] already play with the Blacks.”
The offer will help promote rugby union, a sport that is growing rapidly among juniors in Maitland.
This year, 365 children played in the club’s junior ranks forming 20 teams from under 7s through to the under 18s.
That number is expected to surpass 400 players next year.
Fifteen-year-old Campbell Thomson was recently elected the Black’s first junior captain, to act in an official capacity at club events.
“The committee has selected me to represent the club at these type of events,” he said at the Bolwarra Public School presentation last Thursday.
“It’s great that we can get rugby into the schools which is what it’s all about.”
The Black’s paid $625 to secure the jerseys for the children.
Parents David and Karen Webb donated the other half in gratitude
to the school for educating their children since 2003.
School captain Edward Sutherland thanked the Maitland Junior Rugby Union and the Webbs for the jerseys.
“I’m sure our rugby team will get many years of work out of them,” he said.
