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ACT Schoolboys breaks 29-year national schoolboys rugby championship drought

They're the group with "more ticker than Phar Lap" and they have just ended a 29-year drought by becoming the first ACT Schoolboys team to win the national championships since 1988.

The ACT "stuck together like duct tape" and stunned the competition and knocked over everyone in their path with a 30-11 victory over Queensland II in the final capping off a remarkable week.

It is the ACT's first national title since a side featuring Rod Kafer, Matt O'Connor and Marco Caputo defeated NSW to be crowned champions in 1988.

After stunning come-from-behind wins against Queensland and NSW II, the ACT boys made it three on the trot after piling on five tries against WA to punch their ticket to the decider against Queensland II.

The ACT have been runners-up four times since that 1988 title and a second-half onslaught ensured history wouldn't repeat on Saturday.

They've been dubbed "Jack" by opposition coaches because they are the giant-killers but coach Dan Hawke still couldn't manage a wink of sleep on the eve of the game.

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"We could not script a better week," Hawke said. 

"Couldn't script it any better, to come from behind twice to win, to struggle against WA, we were just emotionally drained, it was just absolutely clutch from the boys.

"They stuck together through thick and thin, they nominated how they wanted to be remembered at the start of the week."

Despite defying the odds and beating the four highly-fancied Queensland and New South Wales teams to the title, the ACT only managed to have two players named for the Australian schoolboys.

Hooker Lachlan Lonergan and halfback Seamus Smith were named for the Australian schoolboys while Will Goddard, Brendan Jimenez, Lachlan Osborne and Tom Iles were named in the Barbarians team.

Both teams will feature in a September series against New Zealand and Fiji where the ACT's new super boot Goddard hopes to launch his Wallabies dream.

While the ACT didn't have as many players named for higher honours as they might have hoped, Goddard says "everyone's heads are turning" after the Brumbies juniors shocked the schoolboy scene.

"This definitely just opens the door wide open for a career in rugby which has always been my aspiration and goal since I was a young boy, since I first started playing rugby at the age of nine," Goddard said.

"Hopefully I can take it all the way through to Wallabies."

Hawke lauded the young flyhalf and said he looked more like a "seasoned 100-game first grader" than a schoolboy player in the decider.

Down 8-6 at the break, the ACT fell back on the pillars they had come up with during the week to inspire another shock victory.

They had decided they were going to be unified, ruthless, respected, and positive - and it showed in spades on and off the field.

"We're always cleaning tables and picking up after other people," Hawke said.

"The unity the boys have had, we go everywhere together, we stay together, we're watching movies together at night. Everyone just wants to be with each other and it's such a good group.

"When the going got tough in the last week, that's what we called upon and we relied on each other. The boys have held together like duct tape."

The future of ACT rugby is looking better than lego.

AT A GLANCE

ACT SCHOOLBOYS 30 (Seamus Smith, Brendan Jimenez, Thomas Iles tries; William Goddard 3 penalties; William Goddard 2, Thomas Haddad conversions) bt QUEENSLAND II 11 at Riverview, St Ignatius College, Sydney on Saturday.

Australian schoolboys squad: Bo  Abra (NSW I) - St Stanislaus College, Angus Bell (NSW II) - Newington College, Darcy Breen  (NSW I) - The Scots College, Lachlan Connors (QLD II) - St Patrick's College, Ben Donaldson  (NSW I) - Waverley College, Nick Frost (NSW I) - Knox Grammar School, Albert Hopoate (NSW I) - St Augustine's College, Trevor Hosea  (QLD I) - Brisbane Boys College, Ciaran Loh (NSW I) - The King's School, Noah Lolesio  (QLD I) - The Southport School, Lachlan Lonergan (ACT) - Trinity Christian College, Luca Moretti (NSW I) - Waverley College, Jordan Petaia (QLD I) - Brisbane State High School, Charlie Rorke (NSW I) - St Ignatius College, Riverview, Seamus Smith (ACT) - Marist College, Carlo Tizzano (WA) - Trinity College, Josh Vuta (QLD II) - Somerset College, Harry Wilson (QLD I) - St Josephs College Gregory Terrace, Thomas Woodcock (NSW I) -  Knox Grammar School, Finn Wright (NSW II) - Waverley College

Australian schools Barbarians: Moses Alo-Emile (QLD I) - Brisbane State High School, Oliver Barden (VIC) - Brighton Grammar School, Marco Bell (NSW II) - Waverley College, Max Douglas (NSW I) - St Augustine's College, Max Dowd (QLD I) - The Southport School, Apenisa Driti (NSW I) - Griffith High School, William Goddard (ACT) - Canberra Grammar School, Kohan Herbert (QLD II) - Downlands College, Phoenix Hunt (QLD I) - St Joseph's College Nudgee, Tom Iles (ACT) - Marist College, Brendan Jiminez (ACT) - St Edmund's College, Tom Kibble (QLD I) - Brisbane Boys College, William Lloyd (NSW I) - Barker College, Brody MacAskill (WA) - Aranmore Catholic College, Cullen Ngamanu (QLD I) - Brisbane Boys College, Lachlan Osborne (ACT) - Canberra Grammar School, Campbell Parata (QLD I) - The Southport School, Alex Sa'aga (VIC) - Melbourne Grammar School, Egan Siggs (QLD I) - The Southport School, Jack Winchester (Combined States) - Bishop Druitt College, Tom Yassmin (NSW II) - The Scot's College