FROM state team captain to national representative

FROM state team captain to national representative, the rugby union career of Dylan Dodd has soared in 2012.

Dodd's standout captaincy of the Queensland side at the national under 18 Indigenous rugby union championships in Alice Springs during April earned him a jersey on the Australian Indigenous team.

The national Indigenous squad played against division two squads from the Northern Territory, South Australia and Tasmania in the Novotel Australian Schools Rugby Championships in Sydney last month.

The team defeated the Northern Territory (36-25) and smashed Tasmania (65-10), earning Dodd a spot in the Australian Schools Rugby Union Presidents XV squad.

Selections for the Presidents XV were dominated by players from the Indigenous team filling 11 of the 23 jerseys on offer for the match.

The Ipswich Grammar School full-back said he was honoured to be selected.

"I was thrilled, there's a lot of talent out there," the 17-year-old said.

"It's one of my biggest achievements so far."

Dodd has also been a part of the Lloyd McDermott Rugby Development Program for the past three years, which aims to expose athletes from all states to both rugby and life skills to continue to increase the profile of the sport among Indigenous youths.

The Australian Schools Rugby Union President's XV were defeated 36-13 on the final day of the Novotel Australian School's Rugby Championship against the Tongan Schools side at St Ignatius College, Riverview on July 7.

The Australians held to two tries, while the Tongans ran in six.