Hi All,

Please circulate this amongst your clubs, schools, players & parents.

Just a quick update on the Boys Under 18 Rep pathway for Gen Blue U18 in 2020.

The good news for our U18s players is that that there WILL be a REPRESENTATIVE pathway for them in 2020.

We can confirm that the traditional REPS season for any other age group in both NSW Schools and Club rugby competitions have been cancelled. Leaving the focus for the remainder of this interrupted season to focus on Club and School competitions and participation. In terms of GEN BLUE Programs - Players in GPS, CAS, ISA and club rugby competitions still have a rugby outlet for our Talent Identification Scouts to watch them play in.

But we are fully aware this has meant that certain sectors of our game have been left with potentially no rugby exposure and thus limitations on their pathway moving forward. In particular we are most concerned about our CHS, CCC, AICES and Club rugby players in this regard. With no regular competitions played in most of these school associations, many of these players would normally gravitate towards an SRU 3rd grade colts competition or a Senior rugby/colts program in the Country areas.But with the SRU 3rd grade colts comp also in jeopardy and a number of Country Zones cancelling their competitions, we are concerned that a number of our players may not have any real rugby exposure to push forward claims for the GEN BLUE program.

It is worth noting that the SJRU are running an U18 Club comp (played on a Sunday) which is open to all players- contact your local club and get involved.    

We can confirm that we are making plans for U18 Representative Rugby in September this year. Without confirming dates / venues etc yet It will involve a trial day (probably in Sydney either 1st or 2nd weekend of Sep) where any under 18 players from CCC, CHS,AICES, SRU Colts, Subbies, Country Rugby, CJRU & SJRU can come to trial for one of the NSW Juniors Barbarians teams.

There will then be a GEN BLUE U18 Rep carnival on the weekend of 26th / 27th Sep where this team will compete for spots in the Gen Blue program. It is early days as to whether the other schools Associations will be directly involved or simply individual players identified from their schools rugby competitions are invited to trial in Barbarians teams at the same carnival. But all players will have an opportunity to be selected via any of these methods. 

We can also assure players that the NSWRU talent scouts will be out watching them when they start school and club Rugby in July. More details to follow - So stay tuned, keep fit and we look forward to seeing you back on the park.

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Other Age groups

There will be an U15/U16 GEN BLUE Camp in the first week of Oct - players will be invited to this from School and Club form.

There is not U13/14 Development Academy running this year.

SJRU, CJRU & NSW Schools Rep, Australian Schools fixtures are all still cancelled for 2020..

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To clarify further here are some of the FAQ's & answers..

🏉 Is Reps back on for 2020 now? 👉 No SJRU, CJRU, NSWJRU, NSW Schools and Australian Schools Rep programs for 2020 are all still cancelled. GEN BLUE Under 18s are the only age group where a carnival of games is planned.
🏉 Are we selecting SJRU & CJRU U18 teams? 👉 No there will be a number of NSW Junior Barbarians teams from CHS, CCC, AICES & Club rugby U18s for the purpose of the GEN BLUE trials.
🏉 Is GEN BLUE on for U15 / U16? 👉There will be a GEN BLUE Camp at the start of October for the U15 / U16 Age group. Players will be invited from their school/club form.
🏉 Is the Waratah Development Academy for U13 / U14 on in 2020? 👉 Unfortunately not - focus is on club / school rugby & participation.
🏉 How will players be identified? 👉 As in every year - The GEN BLUE guys have a vast network of talent scouts that will be out watching your games & are often referred players by this method.

Once we have further details worked out we will distribute. Follow / Like us on Facebook to stay in touch.

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Cheers

Ben Gregory

President NSW Junior Rugby Union

Director - NSW Rugby Board

Website : www.nswjuniors.com.au

Email : nswjuniorrugby@gmail.com | Mobile:+61 (0)433 156 652

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nswjuniorrugbyunion/

Twitter: @bengregory15gm1

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