U16 and U19 National Champs Round One: Fittler, Halaholo shines for NSW as Brumbies, Force trade wins

Rugby Au

The U16s and U19 National Championships are underway with round one of the regular season getting underway in Canberra and Brisbane.

The Brumbies and Western Force battled it out at Viking Park, with the visitors taking the U16s match in a thriller whilst the hosts got a matter of revenge in the U19s.

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Meanwhile, it was a clean sweep for the Waratahs as they claimed both the U16 and U19 fixtures against the Reds.

It comes after the U15s started the day with a 13-6 victory over the hosts at Sunnybank Rugby Club.

Rugby.com.au recaps all the action from the opening round

ACT Brumbies v Western Force at Viking Park

Under 16s

The Western Force have held on for a 26-20 victory over the Brumbies after an electric performance from flanker Luke Holt-Brown.

The hosts started strong as flanker Bailey Bouquiaux sliced through the line to put Braydan Darmody over inside 90 seconds after

The visitors refused to drop their heads after failing to control the opening kickoff, with winger Ken Ah Hong making up for his earlier mistake to score in the corner.

He was followed over by lock Jackson Bridges as the Force took a 14-7 after 10 minutes.

Both sides traded attacking opportunities but the defences held strong as the visitors maintained their seven-point lead into the break.

Holt-Brown then proceeded to rip the game open, bursting through the line before finishing off a sneak down the short side a phase later to extend the margin.

Unfortunately for the Force, they once again couldn't control the kickoff as Harry Hudson scored an easy try to hit straight back

With the game in the balance, Holt-Brown once again showed his pace to sprint away for a second, securing the victory for the Force.

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