Welcome to Season 2023 – a new year and we are looking forward to the opportunities.
Here is a brief summary of what is on offer for Boys club rugby within SJRU for 2023.
*Note there is some crossover with NSW Country and NSW Schools along the Rep pathways
SJRU Super Minis Footy Fest (Minis)
Similar to the successful Mini Try Rugby Footy Fests that SJRU ran in November, we will again be running a super Minis Footy Fest on the 18th February at Concord Oval. This will be held as a precursor to the Waratahs Trial game against the Western Sydney Two Blues and West Harbour.
All the Waratahs players will be in attendance and a fantastic chance for our minis boys and girls to have some fun on the field and meet some of the Waratahs players.
Boys SJRU Sizzling 7’s (Club Comp)
In 2023 SJRU will run a single Gala event of Boys 7s on the 26th February. This is in response to the feedback that most clubs would prefer to focus on their XV’s pre-season and a single pre-season 7s event was the preferred option.
Boys SJRU XV’s & Minis (Club Comp)
In 2023 SJRU will run it’s usual XV’s season competitions. This is the Friday Only (ungraded comp) and the Friday-Sunday Graded Competitions. As well as the various District Minis competitions with which SJRU will be facilitating a monthly Inter-District Minis Gala on the last weekend of each month to enable the minis to get exposure to more and varied teams.
Rugby Club Foundation NSW Junior State Championships (Reps)
Run over the June long weekend the State Champs will be held in the U12 to U18 age groups. Venues can be found at https://www.nswjuniors.com.au/post/2023-rugby-club-foundation-nsw-junior-state-championships-venues
This is the first step in the Representative pathway for the boys and the Champs are for District Based teams.
Boy’s should be aware that their eligibility to play for a District will be determined by the following criteria;
- Firstly – what club they play XV’s for shall determine their District Rep Pathway
- They must also play a minimum of FOUR Club competition rounds to be eligible
- This criteria is important to note as boys whom breach such will not be allowed to participate at the State Champs. So for example a boy playing for a club like Norwest must follow the Two Blues Rep pathway, a boy playing for Mosman must follow the Northern Suburbs Rep pathway.
- If a boy trials for their HOME District and is unsuccessful in gaining selection into their District Rep team, ONLY THEN are they allowed to trial for another District/Zone.
Rugby Club Foundation NSW Junior U10/U11 State Gala (Rep Development)
Run over the 15th & 16th July this massive carnival is moving to Eric Tweedale Stadium in 2023. It is a fantastic entry for the players to experience what Rep Rugby is about without the pressure of finals.
This tournament has no finals- it is purely a round robin where all teams will play 3 games on each day. The essence of this tournament is about fun and the enjoyment of the game, whilst still providing an entry level experience to Rep rugby. Zones and Districts are invited to enter two teams of up to 18 players in each squad and we do ask that they be graded into A & B levels so that we can match like-for-like teams and avoid potential blow-outs by mismatching teams.
The atmosphere is all about fun and includes relay races and novelty events to add to the experience. This is already an iconic event in our calendar and well worth the trip.
A special part of this event is that teams and their officials and supporters all compete for the ‘Spirit of Rugby’ awards at the carnival. This is an all-encompassing award that is judged on the actions & behaviours of the team AND their supporters over the weekend rather than any results on the field. The U10 teams compete for the ‘Dr John George Spirit of Rugby Shield’ and the U11’s for the ‘G.R.Paton Spirit of Rugby Shield’. There are no other awards like this that we know of.
There are no further teams selected from this tournament.
Boys Representative Pathway (XV’s Reps)
Following The Rugby Club Foundation NSW Junior State Championships boys will be selected for higher honours in the U14, U15, U16 & U18 age groups.
The first stop from here is the NSWJRU Regionals (Grantham Reserve, 1st & 2nd July) where games will be played and final selections made for both Sydney and NSW Country teams.
The Sydney and NSW Country teams will then compete at the annual City vs Country Carnival (Maitland 23rd July).
The Sydney U14 Boys team will also play against Brisbane Juniors (BJRU) on 17th September in Sydney.
More details on the Boys pathways can be found at https://www.nswjuniors.com.au/post/nswjru-boys-representative-pathways-for-7s-xvs-2023
Note – Due to the nature of the season the Sydney U18 Boys will hold OPEN trials for all players whom are U18 in SJRU, Shute Shield Colts & NSW Suburban colts. The U18 Rep pathway for Club rugby players has improved vastly in the past few years and we saw many players make the Australian Schools & U18s, Australian Schools Barbarians, NSW Juniors XV and NSW Barbarians via this pathway. We’d encourage all our aspirational U18 Club players to nominate for the Sydney U18 team.
2023 Sydney U18 Rep Player Trial Nomination Form due 21st Apr 2023
Boys SJRU U12 Development Gala (Rep Development)
SJRU will host a Development Gala for U12s on 8th & 9th July in Sydney (during school holidays). Inviting a 2nd team from each District (separate to Rep team that attended State Champs). It is a great way to give a wider group the chance to experience what Rep rugby is all about in a fun, carnival atmosphere. This Tournament is also open to any of the Country Zones who have a team that wishes to participate.
NSWRU State 7’s Champs (7’s Reps)
NSW 7’s State Champs will be held on 23-25 Sep (U11 & U13) and 6-8 October 2023 (U15 & U17). This year’s 7’s competition will be for District based teams as with the 15’s competition (except U11 which is mixed and club based). Districts will need to select teams for inclusion in the competition. Clubs will not be permitted to submit teams in the 2023 7 a side State Cup for U13, U15 & U17.
Open to boys in the following age brackets:
- U11 (can include U10 & U11 – is a mixed 7s format)
- U13 (can include U12 & U13)
- U15 (can include U14 & U15)
- U17 (Opens) (can include U16 & U17)
Eligibility criteria is the same as for XV’s (see above)
There are also further Rep 7s opportunities – see the Rep Roadmaps for more detail.
Boys SJRU Spring 7’s (Club Comp)
In 2023 SJRU will run our final wave of Boys (Spring 7’s) commencing on Sunday 22nd October with the wave concluding on Sunday 19th November. This wave (Spring 7s) is run as a separate gala format each fortnight with finals, meaning that teams can elect to play all or only some of the events.
Pasifika Youth Cup
In 2023 SJRU will again run the Pasifika Youth Cup – this year will have the event expanded to a full standalone weekend event (24-26 Nov) with the Opening Ceremony on the Friday evening with a full card of games on the Saturday and Sunday. Opportunities to represent NSW Tonga, NSW Fiji, NSW Samoa, NSW Maori, NSW Koori, NSW Cook Islands, NSW Barbarians and hopefully more. One of the highlights and a great way to end the year.
Rep Coaches 2023
And it is not all about the players – opportunities for coaches along the Rep pathway exist also.
For nomination forms go to
2023 SJRU Rep Coach Nomination Form due 1st Mar 2023
2023 NSWJRU Rep Coach Nomination Form due 1st Mar 2023
Plus some more info at https://www.nswjuniors.com.au/post/nsw-juniors-2023-nomination-forms-coaches-state-champs
A big season ahead of us – Enjoy 😊
cheers
BG