2024 NSWJRU Presidents Report

Another year down, and from a junior perspective another successful one.  We managed to get a full season of rugby with only a few weather issues across the state. Participation continues to be challenging, however once again, the older age groups, especially U16's and above have continued to grow - as has participation in the Country regions.

The SJRU GM and our Vice President, Ben Gregory, has continued on his mission to increase the number of competitions and game development across all areas of juniors, and it is great to see Rugby in its multiple forms firmly established as an all-year sport.  The SJRU continued to work with the girls programs and once again, the competitions were well supported across boys and girls in all age groups. The 7s Junior State Championships has grown into a major event on the calendar and Michael Doyle needs to be commended for his dedication and determination that has seen this meteoric growth, resulting in this year needing to run over 2 weekends to satisfy demand.  The tournament will be slightly restructured again in 2025 and come under the governance of NSWJRU.

The NSW Country Junior competitions again adapted with the regional changes in clubs and schools and managed to remain strong across all Zones.  The NSW Schools Associations successfully completed their seasons with some changes to game schedules, however the support and collaboration continued to grow. In conjunction with Andrew Hill and NSW Rugby 2024 saw continued growth of the Waratah Shield and an increase in the re-engagement of many schools into rugby across multiple formats.

The Representative season grew yet again of the back of 2023 (which was previously our largest), with participation across all age groups.  As highlighted in the VP Representative report the NSW State Championship was highly successful in terms of growth in individual player and team numbers, and also enthusiasm for the tournament. The 2023 learnings were used to create a smooth draw and despite early weather challenges and continued difficulties with ground availability, structurally the tournament was a great success. Thanks to the continued support of all clubs, districts, zones and schools - This tournament continues to grow from strength to strength, and has established itself as an iconic fixture of each June long weekend. This reputation has led to the tournament becoming a sought after event for clubs to host and local councils are becoming aware of the financial boost NSWJRU can provide, which will see some exciting new venues in 2025. This popularity continues to led to increased demands on our venues and every year we rely on the generous spirit of our volunteer host venues and their local Government support. This support extends to many of the local councils providing ground availabilities, parking and accommodation and in particular I would like to thank Dubbo Regional Council, Orange City Council and Mid-Western Regional Council.

NSWJRU continue to support and develop Representative Pathways across the Boys and Girls games providing increased opportunity for participation and a high standard of play. The success of these programs was again on display across the national competitions, and I would like to especially make mention of the incredible success enjoyed by the Waratah Academy programs. Obviously, this success doesn’t happen without effort, and as such I would like to thank the NSW Waratahs team of Andrew Cleverley and Matt Evrard for all their work and support of all our pathway programs. Based on this years success and the continued development of all our junior programs we are extremely optimistic for 2025.  I would also like to thank both Mark Green, Paul Doorn and most recently Peter Murphy, for their continued support of all our Junior programs, as without their support much of this would not be possible.

I would again like to single out Ben Gregory (NSWJRU Life Member) who has continued in his dual role of SJRU GM and NSWJRU VP Representatives and continues to devote not only extraordinary amounts of time, but also an infectious enthusiasm to develop additional opportunities across the State for both boys and girls. His commitment to junior rugby is second to none, and he not only assists in growing awareness but also participation.  Much of the resurgence and growth for the older age groups is directly attributed to Ben’s efforts, and we again experienced significant growth in the U18/Opens State Championships across boy boys and girls. Whilst not victorious I thought it appropriate to mention that again our NSW Junior XV managed to make the U18s championship final at the ASRU tournament this year.

As always these tournaments, and indeed our entire operation, does not take place without the efforts of so many volunteers across all our affiliate groups. Many of these volunteers also sit as representatives on the NSWJRU Board and I would personally like to thank them for their contributions in 2024 – George Roper and Michael Clark (Sydney Juniors), Renee Park and Simon Stuart (NSW Country) and Craig Howe and Mark Bos (NSW Schools).  I must also thank the NSWJRU executive of Nicki Willner, Ben Gregory, Gary Paton as well as secretary Ben Kooyman and the enduring support and assistance of Kerry Brady (NSWJRU Life Member).  In addition to this, I need to thank the members of the Girls, Sevens and State Championship Sub committees without whose efforts we would not have these fabulous competitions and programs. I would also like to thank our NSW Junior patrons Piper Duck and Darren Coleman for their continued support of junior rugby and efforts throughout 2024.

Over and above volunteer effort, we need financial input to successfully administer these programs, and I need to thank all our sponsors in 2024 who’s generosity and support enable us to put on the vast number of events and tournaments. This year Wahu continued their sponsorship, not only as a financial benefactor but also practically with the Wahu fun zones and giveaways at the junior tournaments. The Positive Rugby Foundation and Peter Murphy remained supporters of NSWJRU and devoted a lot of time and resources to our country communities.

A special thanks as always has to go to The Rugby Club Foundation for their incredible and continued support of Junior Rugby in our State. Once again Angus Bruxner, Peter Whittington, Lisa Kane and the rest of the team at The Rugby Club Foundation generously covered the entry fee for all teams at the NSW Junior State Championships, which is an incredible display of support for grassroots rugby. In addition to this The Rugby Club Foundation has also donated a significant sum to assist in the development of junior coaching and referee courses which again strengthens the ability for all of us to administer the game.

Having now had the honour and privilege of being NSWJRU President for three seasons, the enormity of the work and impact of so many stakeholders is not lost on me. I sincerely appreciate the amount of work that has resulted in the strength of our junior game presently. There is still an enormous amount of work to do however, encouragingly with all parties heading in the same direction teams I continue to be enthusiastic about the future of junior rugby and the community game as a whole.

Looking forward to an even bigger and better 2025!! 

Yours in Rugby

Andrew Hutton
President NSWJRU
Director NSWRU

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