Grace with members of the Cootamundra Bears Junior Rugby Union Club.
Harden’s Grace Kemp has been selected in the Australia A Team to tour Fiji in November.
Grace has been identified as part of the next generation of Wallaroos stars will gain valuable International experience against the best nations from the region.
The Australia A squad has been placed in Pool B alongside Fiji and Papua New Guinea. In Pool A the Black Ferns Development side will play Samoa and Tonga.
Fiji, PNG, Tonga and Samoa will all be battling it out for Rugby World Cup qualification for the tournament’s next rendition in New Zealand in 2021 with Australia and New Zealand having already qualified for the tournament.
Buildcorp Wallaroos Head Coach Dwayne Nestor said: “This tournament gives us an excellent opportunity to expose more players to the wider Wallaroos program and show them the standard required to play Internationally.
“2020 is a very important year for the Buildcorp Wallaroos as we put together the final building blocks for the 2021 Rugby World Cup.
“More game time is crucial to growing our depth and I am looking forward to this tour bringing out more players that can compete at Test level.”
The team will be coached by Queensland Reds Head Coach, Moana Virtue with Alana Thomas of the Melbourne Rebels Women as her Assistant.
Grace is currently undertaking a University program in Canberra and at 18 years of age is the youngest player to be selected.
She said, “I found out a few months ago but I wasn’t able to tell anyone, it was just amazing I had a bit of a cry.”
Grace will be playing as a lock in the side with the first match set down for November 18 against Tonga.
She said, “I have just returned from indigenous 7s camp. They have given us a new program and our Brumbies head coach has us training twice a week. We are learning new set plays. It is just amazing, finally pulling on the green and gold jersey it has always been a dream, it’s pretty cool.”
Grace’s mother Kirsty said, “She is playing with the big girls now. She has worked really hard and given up a lot of things to attend training and moving to Canberra away from home and all of those things havn’t just happened for her. She has had to work really hard. A lot of people have helped her along the way and given her those opportunities. She has had to grow up very quickly. She is Juggling year 12 and where she wants to have a career alongside this. She is the baby of the squad it will be an eye opener. We are going over and my parents are going over.”
Australia A Fixtures
Monday 18 November, Australia A v Tonga, 12.30pm AEDT
Friday 22 November, Australia A v Black Ferns Development, 12.30pm AEDT
Tuesday 26 November, Australia A v Samoa, 12.30pm AEDT
Australia A Squad for Oceania Rugby Women’s Championship
……………………………………………..
Grace Kemp, Brumbies Women
Michaela Leonard, Brumbies Women
Remi Wilton, Brumbies Women
Samantha Wood, Brumbies Women
Piper Duck, NSW Waratahs Women
Kennedy Cherrington, NSW Waratahs Women
Courtney Frankl, NSW Waratahs Women
Fi Jones, NSW Waratahs Women
Asoiva (Eva) Karpani, NSW Waratahs Women
Atasi Lafai, NSW Waratahs Women
Lillyann Mason, NSW Waratahs Women
Arabella Mckenzie, NSW Waratahs Women
Sera Naiqama, NSW Waratahs Women
Tasmin Sheppard, NSW Waratahs Women
Maya Stewart, NSW Waratahs
Millie Boyle, Queensland Reds
Alana Elisaia, Queensland Reds
Toa (Dora) Filimoehala, Queensland Reds
Georgina Friedrichs, Queensland Reds
Courtney Hodder, Queensland Reds
Averyl Mitchell, Queensland Reds
Kirby Sefo, Queensland Reds
Christina Sekona, Queensland Reds
Zahara Temara, Queensland Reds
Georgia Cormick, Melbourne Rebels Women
Janita Kareta, Melbourne Rebels Women
Tiarah Minns, Melbourne Rebels Women
Titilia Yabaki, Melbourne Rebels Women
