Twelve teams representing every State and Territory will do battle for the Rod Macqueen Shield (Division 1) and the John Eales Shield (Division 2) at the National Under 16s Championship, which has seen almost all of the 2008 Qantas Wallabies participate in over the years.
Underlining the success of the Under 16 Championships in nurturing young Rugby talent, three of the new faces in the Qantas Wallabies Spring Tour Squad – James O’Connor, Quade Cooper and David Pocock – all have participated in previous editions of the tournament in recent years.
Not only does the tournament allow the best up-and-coming players in the country to pit themselves against each other on the field, the championships also provide players with vital education about off-field issues and the demands of professional Rugby.
NSW Schools will be aiming for a “Famous Five” after winning the tournament for the past four years, but they will be tested by two strong Queensland teams as well as teams representing Brumbies, WA, Sydney Juniors, NSW Country, Victoria and WA.
Follow all the results from Monday on rugby.com.au
Some interesting notes of this year’s tournament
- NSW Schools lock James Williams is the son of Classic Wallaby Steve Williams, who played 28 Tests at lock for the Wallabies in the early 80s.
- NSW Schools Myles McCaffery’s elder brother Lachlan has just secured a contract with the NSW Junior Waratahs, while team mate Rhys Brodie’s father (Scott Brodie) has the rare distinction of having claimed the title of “world’s strongest cop” at the International Police Olympics in Sydney in 1988, as well as several bodybuilding titles including Mr. Australasia and Mr. Oceania.
- Queensland Red’s flyhalf Matt Lucas is brother of Ben, a current Queensland Red and Australian Sevens player.
- Queensland Red Assistant coach Garrick Morgan played 24 Tests at flanker and lock for the Wallabies between 1992-97.
- Newly named Qantas Wallabies flanker David Pocock’s younger brother, Steven, has been selected for Queensland White.
- Michael Bermingham of Queensland Red is the great-grandson of Classic Wallaby Vincent Bermingham who was part of the first Australian team to claim a Bledisloe Cup Series victory in 1934.
