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.”
“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.”
Brent Deakin
Guest
Byron has a "Pedigree" if you will, probably not aware of it,,but none the less a genetic blueprint . his Grandfather was an "ALL BLACK" trial out, whom many considered unlucky not to make it...politics or off field behavior his undoing so i"m led to believe and soon after a career ending injury,....nonetheless a great winger in his day ...a finisher with great speed and awareness..and although specific weight training not embraced in his day..had good size and strength. i"m certain with the right guidance and skills input he will indeed make the top level,especially in 7"s rugby where it still rings true..you can"t coach speed into a player...and i think he can only get quicker with maturity as sprinters usually don"t peak until their mid to late twenties.he seems to have a fantastic work ethic with track and field medals both locally and abroad to back this up, and an innate sense of spatial awareness evidenced in his highlights package..don't write him off cos he did not make Australian Schools... I for one believe he has the goods..and who am i ???...his Genetic Dad.
Damo
Guest
Do a little research and have a look at his defensive game. You need to be able to tackle as well as score trys. Its about an overall skill set.
Mat
Guest
Yes. That's a very worrying comment from a 17 year old. It's obviously the perception of the younger generation. This ship needs turning around very quickly before it does actually crash and burn.
Kai
Guest
He goes to my school and he is so dedicated to his body and his rugby, and he is only 17!
Bakkies
Guest
Gary we don't know unless you are on the ground floor as a parent, coach, supporter, etc as unlike the other major Rugby nations the schools don't have tv coverage. The supporter and so forth can only go on from what they have seen. There's two crack youngsters Gianni Lombard and Damian Willemse who have just come out of schools Rugby in SA and I can access outside of SA full games that these young lads have played on You Tube without paying any fee. Apart from the highlights reels and the fact that the Sydney CAS and GPS boys only play five competitive matches in their respective competitions is not much to go on. The results indicate that there are schools falling by the wayside which is concerning when you only have 6 team competitions.
Bakkies
Guest
Was he this modest back then?
graymatter
Roar Rookie
You;re on the Money here Gary. The fact remains that despite being undefeated in the Australian Schoolboys Tournament only two ACT Reps were selected in the Australian Schoolboys Squad! Don't tell me Old-School tie didn't influence the selections! Its about time we face up to the real problem in Australian Rugby. It isn't skill level or player depth - Look how many Australians are playing overseas right now. What it is, is that Establishment and Entitlement beat hard work and Application and it is fostered from this elite level right up to the Senior Ranks where we see exactly the same selection process! It stinks. The lesson should have been learned when the League split away all those years agol But they are very old Schools and they will not change through their own volition. Whats it going to take - Another break Away Group?
scubasteve
Guest
That kids like Byron look good on highlight reels against other kids. There is a big step up to the big boys and mostly around strength gained through miles and maturity. Also; the kids that show speed etc as younger kids can lose that speed as they get older. There is a ton of bias in rugby selection for school sides etc. Its politics. But..... if you look at the list of years gone by not many of those selected get through to the big leagues either. Its a thin percentage that make it to big leagues. Bottom line is you play the game like you enjoy it, you work hard to improve and you become so good you force your way into the top side. To use a boxing/UFC analogy. Don't leave it in the refs decision. Become the very very best. and get yourself a back up plan like an education just in case. We have a NRC, we have club. That is all a young kid needs to get game time and improve. Honestly if you can't stand out by a long way in these formats then how can you be expected to get to super rugby. And if you can't stand out in super rugby how can you expect to get to Wallabies and challenge NZ? If one year in your development you are not yet there to stand out then that just means you have to put in another year to get there. Rugby league is no different so this kid shouldn't think it is going to be any easier over there. On the squad development. That is on the ARU to be better at picking talent, putting some funding in to nurture and providing funding for nutrition and recovery. But a lot of athletes need to be honest with themselves. Ask the question; am I going to be a super rugby player or am I going to be one of the top 2 in my position in the world. If you are aiming at the former its not going to set you up for life anyway.
John R
Roar Guru
if union eventually crashes and burns :(
Gary
Guest
I have seen a lot of the highlights reels and there seems to be some serious talent coming through GPS/CAS systems like Byron ( where are the CHS kids ?? ) , and in a spare moment I checked the names of the kids on the highlights reels against the names on the Aust schoolboys recent team sheet and could find only one of the lads on the team sheet meaning one of the following: - the kids in the team just didn't have highlights reels ? - the highlights reels are forgeries ? ( joking ) - the reels show a good level of skill but maybe these kids just look good against poor opposition ? OR - the selection process is rigged which is my bet , didn't we get well beaten by the Kiwi schoolboys this year , why weren't a few of these kids not selected , if the kids in the team were really better than the likes of Byron then was it the poor coaching and general organisation that lead to the poor result ? Wonder how many of the Kiwi kids would make the comments that Byron did, apart from 7's he really doesn't see a clear pathway ahead for himself in Rugby ?
Charles Plowdog
Guest
“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.” What a strange comment. Does anyone today believe they need to learn their craft to get to the highest level? The article doesn't say how old he is but while you don't expect him to be polished in his comments-and that's a good thing-it would be good to see some sense of what he believes he needs to do to prove himself.
Mac
Guest
Agree, I wonder. I also watch schoolboys leave lots of potential behind. They coach what is in front of them. The goal is the season, not the Wallabies. Boys mature at all different times through to 20 and plenty will say older. So the pathway needs to be looking for talent and giving it a shot more often. We have squander plenty of players.
AnD
Guest
While I generally agree with your sentiment, I wouldn't say all Super teams are bad. The Brumbies has done a pretty good job of bringing talent unwanted by other sides into the fold. Tom Banks was easily the best Australian back in Super Rugby last season but was overlooked for the mega squad that Cheika pulled together. It's systemic that we choose not to select players for a variety of reasons in the country. Only have to look at the Aussie Schoolboys side and Barbarians which had a total of 4 players from the only undefeated side in the comp. The best player in the national championship couldn't make either and is off to NZ to develop. There shouldn't be an expectation that talented players get contracts in Oz. In NZ they have to fight and earn them, but Crichton is a great example of rugby's inability to develop talent. Telling him it will take 5 years, when he can cross codes and earn hundreds of thousands immediately is stupid.
Bakkies
Guest
Well it appears that the Brumbies have had contact with him. There is a spot left in the senior squad I doubt they will give a full contract to a 18 year old
Hoy
Roar Guru
Reality is that players will miss out. There are only say 3 or 4 spots for wingers in the greater squad (guessing)? Truth shows that good players won't make the cut. It is what happens to the good players that miss out that builds or destroys Aus rugby. Was it unreasonable for Chrichton to be allegedly told he would be in colts and development for 2 years if he signed on with the Tahs? I wouldn't think so if he was contracted to the squad... but he wanted to be playing in the top league somewhere somehow, so he chose the Rabbitohs and was going pretty well. Australian rugby maybe missed a good one there... The ability of other comps/games to utilize talent is what Australian Rugby needs to address. How they do that, I don't have the answer for... but money will come into it.
rugger
Guest
So ARU and its high performanc unit is excellent in culling teams like Force have found out. Its terrible at spotting let alone developing talent given we have lost Criton, etc to league and now couple of NZ. Our 7s team in the series has sucked for years, deviod of ex-factor and speed. And our schoolboys just got smashed by Kiwi not to mention 26-0 in Super Rugby. Why would not Andy Friend bring Bryon in 7s envioronment hand see what he can offer? Why not Gibson bringing him in as development player or is he still waiting for surplus from Force. ARU and its Super Teams are a joke when it comes to discovering talent and retaining and developing them no wonder they running off to NRL and NZ. Problem was NEVER about number of Super team, its was lack of vision, planning and recruitment, retention and development of players. Force had future force program perhaps prototype for rest of super teams but in its bloodymindness ARU has cut them off.
Michael
Guest
I went to school with this guy in Year 8 and he was always way ahead of everyone else as an athlete even then. He's one person that I can potentially see making it at professional level despite not playing schoolboys.
stillmissit
Roar Guru
I wonder about our ability to recognise young talent. It seems a lost art that we used to (Through necessity) be very good at. The Australian under 20 team has been struggling in the last few years, I am surprised that nobody has spoken to this youngster. Talent is one thing, work and dedication is something entirely different. How much does he want to play for the Wallabies?
Tissot Time
Guest
Digby has just left the Crusaders have your agent give Razor a call