Kempsey West Primary School has advanced in the Bryan Palmer Shield after defeating Tacking Point Public School and Aldavilla Primary School in the rugby union tournament on Friday June 16.

Kempsey West Primary School overcame a half-time deficit to win their opening match against Tacking Point 28-15 and they cruised to a 36-7 victory over Aldavilla.

The school will face Lennox Head Public School in the next stage of the PSSA Knockout which is played across the state.

Kempsey West Primary School coach Matt Scott was proud of his team’s efforts.

“The boys were outstanding for a team with limited rugby experience,” Scott said.

“Natural ability really showed on the day and they defended really well throughout the two games only letting in 22 points and they scored a total of 64 points.

Scott was extremely impressed with the win over Tacking Point Public School because they had some very talented rugby union players and their school has a team that plays in the junior rugby comp in Port Macquarie on Friday nights.

“Lamarh Kelly really used his size and power to create a lot of opportunities for the players around him and also showed some great ball playing skills,” Scott said.

“Creedence Donovan displayed a lot of skill with chip chases, which lead to brilliant individual tries and made some very strong tackles.

“Jarrod Lockwood made some great meters up through the middle of the field with strong runs. Joshua Ryan had a great day with a high work load in defense not missing a tackle all day.”

Scott will continue to coach the side and give them a better understanding of rugby union before they head into their next match.

Tom Davidson, who is the North Coast development officer for NSW rugby, has offered to run some training sessions for the Kempsey West team.