RYAN Smith reckons the juniors are the future of the Warwick Rugby Union Club following the decision to pull out of the Darling Downs A-grade senior competition.

The A-grade co coach said one of the problems for rugby union down the years had been the absence of junior teams.

“The Cowboys have a junior (rugby league) base with Eastern Suburbs and Collegians clubs,” Smith said.

“Our future is with the juniors.”

It is only in the past three years that Warwick has had four teams in the Darling Downs junior competition.

A representative junior football (soccer) player, Smith first played senior rugby in the Warwick under-19 side which won the Darling Downs competition in 2004 under coach Andrew Grafton and was runners up in 2005.

He doesn’t expect a lot of the current Warwick squad to play with other Darling Downs clubs but tips the Warwick Rebels Rugby League Club will pick up some players.

The away game against St George last Saturday was the final straw for Smith when he was struggling to get 10 players and had to forfeit.

“You ideally need five players with front-row experience in a squad and we only had one,” he said.

“If you start a game with uncontested scrums in the Darling Downs competition, you automatically forfeit.

He said the team’s best 2011 line-up could have pushed for the finals.

“The commitment wasn’t there from the majority, we don’t have the depth,” he said.