Approximately 280 of the best school age Australian rugby players gathered at Sydney’s St. Ignatius College at the weekend for the 41st annual Australian Schools Rugby Union (ASRU) Championships.
The tournament, which kicked off yesterday and runs until this Saturday 4th July, sees twelve teams from across Australia competing across two divisions.
This year features eight teams in Division One, including two NSW and Queensland teams, Victoria, Western Australia, ACT and Combined States, and four teams in Division Two, including the national Indigenous Lloyd McDermott Rugby Development Team (LMDRT), Northern Territory, Tasmania and South Australia.
The Schoolboys Championships are one of the first steps on Australian Rugby’s development pathway, with approximately 170 Wallabies born out of Australian Schools teams since the ASRU’s inception in 1970.
Like RUPA’s annual Induction Camp for rookies, the Championships provide a good opportunity for RUPA to introduce players to their potential lives as professional rugby players.
RUPA presents to all players each year as part of the event, visiting each team in camp throughout the week to discuss who RUPA are and how we support players, as well as other key information related to RUPA’s work, including information on agents, mental health, finance and the importance of study, education and professional development off the field.
RUPA recognises the importance of extending this support and advice to players from the very outset of their potential professional rugby careers, which is part of the reason behind the partnership between RUPA and the ASRU.
As part of the partnership, the RUPA Medal is presented to the most outstanding player in the Grand Final on the Saturday afternoon. Introduced in 2013, the inaugural medal was awarded to Jack McCalman from The King’s School, while last year’s medal went to Connor O’Shea from St Joseph’s College. Both players were from the Championship winning NSW I team, who have been the victors of the tournament for the past three years.
The annual Championship launches the best rugby talent produced within schools across Australia on to a competitive stage, giving them the chance to both step up in their capabilities and be seen by potential interested agents who attend the six-day event.
It therefore provides a unique opportunity each year for young players from the far corners of the country to showcase their form.
At the conclusion of the tournament, the best players are chosen for the Australian Schoolboys and Australian Barbarians sides who play New Zealand and Pacific Islands teams in a Tri Nations Tour that is held, on a home and away basis, in September and October. Last year the tour was held in New Zealand, meaning this year’s will be held in Australia and will be hosted by Brisbane. The dates are listed here.
The ASRU program also conducts a Grand Slam tour to the UK once every four years. This again provides the opportunity for the Australian Schoolboys and Australian Barbarians teams to experience the international nature of rugby, travelling abroad to take on tier one rugby countries, including England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and New Zealand, as well as the strength of the Pacific Island rugby schools teams from Samoa, Tonga and Fiji.
As reported by RUPA during last year’s Tri Nations series, such tours are a crucial stepping-stone in the development of Australia’s future professional players, allowing players to witness life as a professional rugby player, including the travel commitments and experiences overseas.
With the ASRU staff largely consisting of coaches and teachers, they not only have rare insights and access to schools’ rugby, but also are able and committed to integrating players’ education, study and cultural experiences as a key part of the Schoolboys tournaments and tours.
The placement of this week’s Championships, in the first week of the July school holidays for most players, ensures as little disruption as possible to player’s school time, assessments, examinations, and schools’ rugby competitions.
The ASRU program resonates with the goals and initiatives of RUPA’s Player Development Program (PDP) in ensuring players can develop both on and off the field in their rugby, personal and professional lives. It remains an important factor for professional players, especially when it comes time to hang up the boots, which is why the ASRU is a crucial foundation for players in both their on and off field development.
It was this alignment that led to the partnership between the ASRU and RUPA, with both organisations having rugby and education together as key fundamentals of their values, principles and activities.
As a proud partner of the ASRU program, RUPA recognises the importance of the continued support of Australian Schools rugby for the ongoing development of both rugby players and the game in Australia.
