RUGBY union's recent switch to full professionalism may result in more Aborigines competing at senior level in Australia. Tom Evans, a coach with the Australian Aboriginal Schoolboy team on their tour of Hong Kong, said there are a handful of players in the squad who have the potential to reach the top. Those players were in action yesterday as the Aussies again proved too much for local opposition at So Kon Po. The tourists' second team beat a Valley Select 57-12 and the first team scored a 74-12 win over Gai Wu. Said Evans: 'There are at least five players who have a good chance of reaching the top. It is just a matter of whether or not they want to make it. It is their choice.' Evans said that most young rugby players in Australia, including Aborigines, look to rugby league as a future career, but professionalism in rugby union could alter that trend. 'It's got to be an incentive for these boys,' said Evans. 'A lot of them play league and union in school and most see league as a future. 'But with professionalism, there is hope that many will see union as the way forward. But the decision is up to them, we only provide them with an avenue to play.' One player, 17-year-old Brendan Williams, playing full-back on the tour, has represented New South Wales under-17s and Evans reckons he has potential. Other hopefuls include 18-year-old centre Donald Enoch, 15-year-old lock Tim Burr Burr and one of the youngest players in the squad, 14-year-old giant lock forward Leigh Roy Brown. The team is led by barrister Lloyd McDermott, the first Aborigine to represent Australia at Test level and another former Australian international, Gary Ella.
