Skipper happy with representative talent

13-Dec-2011

You may have seen this article in the paper yesterday written in the Toowoomba Chronicle by Ben Drewe. 

RAIN may have kept numbers down but new Darling Downs coach Andrew Skipper was nevertheless happy with the standard of the representative hopefuls that turned out at Saturday's meet and greet.

Skipper has taken over as coach of the Downs squad for 2012 and wants to see what prospective talent is out there for next year's representative  campaign.

The only Risdon Cup game he saw last season was the grand final between USQ and Toowoomba Rangers, so he needed to see what talent is out there.

Saturday's meet and greet at USQ was to give Skipper an indication of the cattle he may have next year and while the wet weather may have kept some players away, he was happy with the talent on show.

"It was better than expected," he said. "We didn't have the numbers we wanted but the people out west like Roma were rained in.

"We had about 15 players there and the players there were the ones that are probably going to make up the core of the squad.

"I was actually quite happy with the core skills of the players.

"All of the players were quite good and will give us a few selection headaches which is always what you want."

Skipper spoke about his plans for the upcoming season and conducted a 75 minute training run before rain cut the session short.

He is planning trips out west to areas like Roma and St George to see what talent is out there and felt that trip, which could happen in late January or early February, was more important as players couldn't get down on Saturday.

To view the full article please visit the Toowoomba Chronicle Website below. 

http://www.thechronicle.com.au/story/2011/12/12/skipper-happy-rep-talent-toowoomba-rugby-union/

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