NSW Juniors 2024 Representative & State Championships Report‍

If you are and avid reader of Annual & Season Reports, you might be excused for being a little cynical when the reports invariably ‘wax lyrical’ about what a successful season it was. And whilst I am aware of this ‘trap’ that writers of such reports may fall into – I simply cannot buck the trend. Basically, because 2024 has been a tremendous season for NSW Juniors and our programs.

Our signature NSW Junior State Championships was once again a highlight of the junior Rep rugby across NSW. We were blessed to once again have the support of The Rugby Club Foundation, whose generosity has been a massive boost to grassroots rugby across the state. I’d like to thank Chairman Angus Bruxner and The Rugby Club Foundation Board for their amazing support of our major championships each year.

After what was a record number of teams participating in 2023, which was 205 teams, we again set a record in 2024 with a massive 217 teams. The NSWJRU Board remains committed to supporting and fostering junior rugby both within and outside our catchment for the benefit of the whole game, and the 2024 State Champs saw visiting teams from Melbourne, ACTJRU, Southern Inland & South Coast/Monaro.

The 2024 State Champs saw the Under 12 thru to the Under 18 age groups participate across the following venues - A big thank you to these host venues

·        U12 Boys – Camden Rugby Park, Camden

·        U13 Boys – Waratahs Sporting Club, Orange

·        U14 Boys & Girls – Apex Oval, Dubbo

·        U15 Boys – Marcellin Park, Maitland

·        U16 Boys & Girls – CEX Stadium, Coffs Harbour

·        U18 Boys & Girls – St Lukes Fields, Concord & Andrew Petrie Field, Woollahra

The NSWJRU State Gala was again held on the last weekend of the school holidays and due to the size that this event has grown to, we had to split the U10 and U11 ages across two venues. The U10 State Gala was held at Riverwood Park, Riverwood and the U11 State Gala was held at Glen Willow, Mudgee. The U10 Gala also had the U8/U9 and U11 Girls exhibition games with 4 teams involved, as well as the Wahu fun-zones and an U18 Girls Rep game as part of a huge weekend. Whilst the U11s had a trip to wine country out at Mudgee which was a smashing success. The U11’s did something a little different with each team providing a referee as part of their tournament entry conditions and it worked well, as teams engaged even further with the Spirit of the Gala. The Spirit of Rugby awards found some new winners and was a credit to the teams and their supporters for the way they carried themselves over the weekend.

The NSWJRU Regionals was our next event held at Grantham Reserve, Seven Hills. We were very lucky with the weather and a big thanks to Blacktown City Council for assisting us to go ahead. It was a great weekend of Rep rugby with Sydney and NSW Country team selections up for grabs. The visiting U14 team from the San Diego Legion Academy was a big hit for the boys U14 teams to get to play an international opponent.

City vs Country returned to Ann Ashwood Park at Bathurst on what turned out to be a very chilly July day. We saw another fantastic version of this traditional rivalry. A big thanks to Bathurst Bulldogs for hosting us. Results were as follows

Although it is not a NSW Juniors event, it is worth highlighting the SJRU U12 Development Gala and what a success it has become. Created after Covid to give those players who may have been in their Zone/District’s ‘2^nd’ team the opportunity to experience what Rep Rugby is all about in a fun gala format. It has grown to include an U12 Girls 10 a side carnival and continues to grow as an important cog in the Rep pathway.

For the girls it is their first version of anything resembling Rep Rugby and a great introduction for what is on offer in the future.

For the Boys it has become a vehicle for Zones and Districts to give more players an opportunity at this level – without the pressure of playing alongside the superstars – but it has also enhanced the depth within the Zone and District Rep programs. Especially at an age just prior to kids heading off to High School. Many of these players may develop at different speeds and future Rep players are plentiful within their ranks.

The Randwick 2022 U12 Development Team is a great example of this…. TWENTY-THREE (23) players that missed their U12 Rep side in 2022 took the opportunity to play in the Development Gala. Of that, 23 players, 19 were still playing CLUB rugby in their 2024 U14’s – 1 moved overseas and 2 had season ending injuries from other sports before the rugby season began. So, a huge retention rate for Club Rugby…

But probably more important to Zones and Districts is that TEN (10) of these players have gone on to become REP PLAYERS in 2023 or 2024…..Now that is how to foster depth in your program….

NSW Juniors Rep Teams

Our U18 Boys teams – NSW Juniors XV and the NSWJRU U18 Barbarians both travelled to the Sunshine Coast in Queensland to participate in the Australian Schools Championships. It was another successful campaign with the NSW Juniors XV making the final again, but unfortunately fell at the last hurdle, going down in the final 25-24 to the NSW Schools II side.

The NSWJRU Barbarians played under the ‘Combined States’ moniker and welcomed 8 players from Tasmania, South Australia, Northern Territory and Queensland to join the NSW players selected from the State Champs. They lost two games, both by a single point and drew the last game, which shows just how close the teams are at this level. We again had several players selected for the U18 Waratahs and Australian Schools sides from this U18 program.

For the first time NSW Juniors selected a Girls XV’s Rep side in both the U16 & U18 age group – selected directly from the Sydney and NSW Country teams. The teams have games against a NSW Presidents XV (selected from the Pasifika Youth Cup) and Western Australia planned for mid-December 2024. We wish them well as our inaugural Girls Rep teams.

The 2024 Rep program has been well served by many wonderful rugby volunteers without whom we could not bring you such vibrant pathways. Thanks as always to Andrew Cleverley and Matt Evrard at Waratahs, Paul Rathborne & Michele Biet at SJRU, Renee Park and Simon Stuart at NSW Country and Craig Howe, Mark Bos and Chuck Ardron at NSW Schools. And from NSW Juniors Andrew Hutton, Gary Paton, Ben Kooyman and Nikki Willner.

Next year’s planning is well under-way and we look forward to bigger and better again in 2025. Enjoy your off-season

Ben Gregory

VP Reps NSWJRU