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Hear from the schoolboy winger who went viral thanks to Club Roar

19th October, 2017
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19th October, 2017
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Sydney schoolboy Byron Hollingworth-Dessent has spoken to The Roar about rugby, the selection process, and the future of the sport.

Byron’s overwhelming speed and stamina on the wing was showcased on Club Roar last month.

However, he wasn’t always the speedy winger he is today.

In fact, Byron originally played as a prop, until his coach saw him make a phenomenal break, and tried him out in a few other positions.

“They put me at prop actually, for the first few games. I was a big kid, but I made a break, and they realised ‘I think we should put him on the wing,'” he explained.

Despite his efforts throughout his schoolboy career, Byron was not selected to make the Australian schoolboys team in his final year of school.

However, he has not let this minor setback change his professional rugby ambitions and has secured a spot in the Brumbies academy and recently received the George Gregan scholarship at the University of Canberra.

“I really wanted to show them that I was better than what they expected of me in terms of selection.”

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“I was a bit cut that I didn’t make the Aussie schoolboys team or Barbarians, being in year 12, it’s my last year. But I was happy with my performance, in terms of schoolboy rugby,” he said.

The Olympic rugby sevens team is another goal for Byron. He admires the rising popularity and international appeal of the sport.

Byron has only played rugby for five years after a successful stint in track and field.

He also had a brief flirtation with rugby league when he was 14.

While his preference is to play rugby, he’s open to the possibility of switching codes.

“If there’s a better offer or if I might get some more game time, or if union eventually crashes and burns then I might have to actually convert.”

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