Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Fans turned out in their thousands to welcome the Australian Wallabies to the Dubbo leg of their Bush2Bledisloe road trip.
Caltex Park was a sea of green and gold yesterday afternoon as supporters grabbed their opportunity to get up close and personal to their heroes.
Not only did they get to watch the national team work their way through a 90 minute training session, but they were able to meet with and get autographs with their favourite players and have their photos taken with the Bledisloe Cup.
Some lucky members of the Dubbo Kangaroos senior and junior rugby teams also had the opportunity to train with the players and Wallabies coach Ewan McKenzie.
McKenzie was blown away by just how much Dubbo has got behind the trip, which was his brainchild.
“I’m hoping that in the thousands of kids that are here today, there’s going to be future Wallabies. It’s important to get out there and shake their hands, sign and have a photo with them,” the coach said.
“I remember when I was the same age the first time you met some player of influence, those memories are indelible. They’re etched in my mind and we want to have the same impact.
“We’re in the business of inspiration so we want to be knocking on the door and making sure the kids understand we appreciate their support. We would like to see them follow the pathway into the Australian Wallabies.”
Likewise, Dubbo Mayor Mathew Dickerson is hoping Dubbo has an influence on the Wallabies
“When the Wallabies win the Bledisloe this year I think we can take a small part of the credit. The players get to see how support the whole nation is towards them and maybe when they are playing and looking for a bit extra, they can think back to how committed fans were, taking days off school and work to see them. Hopefully it gives them that little bit extra they need,” Cr Dickerson said.
“There might be a few [children who had the day off school] and that’s fine when something like this happens. It’s not very often you have the opportunity to see a national team come to your town and train.”
Dubbo Kangaroos under 11s player Cameron Longhurst was one of the hundreds of young children eager to meet his idols. The ‘Roos inside centre high fived some of the Wallabies as they made their way out onto Caltex Park to train and was hoping to get their signatures afterwards.
“It’s really good. I’ve been to a few Wallabies and Waratahs games before but it’s cool to have them here and some of them gave me high fives as they went past,” Cameron said.
The Wallabies concluded their Dubbo visit as guests of honour at a dinner last night and will head to Orange today.