The Novotel Australian Schools Rugby Championships will return to Sydney for the first time in three years, with 12 teams descending on St. Ignatius’ College Riverview for a week of competition.
With eight teams in the Division I competition and four in Division II, the Novotel Australian Schools Rugby Championships bring together the best high school players from across all states and territories in Australia.
The Championships will also include the Lloyd McDermott Rugby Development Team’s National Indigenous side and a Combined States side.
While winning the Championship is the focus for these sides, players are also competing for the opportunity to be selected in the Australian Schoolboys, Australia A Schoolboys and President’s XV representative sides.
Australian Schools Rugby Union administrator, Andrew Elliot, said the Championship promised to be an exciting exhibition.
“The Championship brings together the best schoolboy Rugby players from across the country,” Elliot said.
“In previous years, the Championship has provided the opportunity for spectators to witness the emerging talents of a number of Qantas Wallabies players, including Kurtley Beale, James O’Connor and Quade Cooper.
“This year will be no different, with so much talent on display there is sure to be a number of players who could well find themselves in a Qantas Wallabies Gold jersey in the coming years.”
Defending champions Queensland will look to continue their impressive run, which has seen the state claim the last six Championships.
The Queenslanders won’t have it all their own way as NSW will look to use a return to familiar territory as the catalyst to breaking their severe Championship title drought.
Division I features Australian Capital Territory, Combined States, New South Wales I, NSW II, Queensland I, QLD II, Victoria and Western Australia.
The sides will compete in two pools of four, with the top ranked side from each pool going on to compete in the Novotel Australian Schools Rugby Championships final on Saturday 7 July.
Division II comprises South Australia, Tasmania, Northern Territory and the LMRDT National Indigenous side.
Division II teams will compete in a round robin format, after which the President’s XV side to face the Tongan Schools side in early July will be selected.
All players competing in the championships will be available for selection in the Australian Schoolboys and Australia A Schoolboys sides, which will also face Tongan Schools in mid-July.
NOVOTEL AUSTRALIAN SCHOOLS RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIPS 2012
Monday 2 July 2012
Game
Location
Time
Div I – ACT v QLD II
Second Field
0915
DIV I – NSW I v VIC
Second Field
1030
Div I – CS v QLD I
First Field
1145
Div I – NSW II v WA
First Field
1300
Div II – NT v LMRDT
First Field
1415
Div II – SA v TAS
First Field
1530
Wednesday 4 July 2012
Game
Location
Time
Div II – LMRDT v TAS
First Field
0915
Div II – NT v SA
First Field
1030
Div I – CS v NSW II
Second Field
1145
Div I – QLD I v WA
Second Field
1300
Div I – QLD II v VIC
First Field
1415
Div I – ACT v NSW I
First Field
1530
Thursday 5 July 2012
Game
Location
Time
Div II - NT v TAS
Second Field
0915
Div II – LMRDT vs SA
Second Field
1030
Div I – CS v WA
First Field
1145
Div I – ACT v VIC
First Field
1300
Div I – NSW II v QLD I
First Field
1415
Div I – NSW I v QLD II
First Field
1530
Saturday 7 July 2012
Game
Location
Time
Div II Sevens knockout
1C
0900
Div I – 4 v 4
Second Field
0900
Div I – 3 v 3
First Field
0900
Div I – 2 v 2
First Field
1015
President’s XV v Tongan Schools
First Field
1130
Div I – Final (1 v 1)
First Field
1300
TONGAN SCHOOLS MATCH SCHEDULE
Game
Location
Date/Time
ASRU Presidents XV v Tongan Schools
St Ignatius’ College, Riverview
7 July 2012, 2:30pm
Australia A v Tongan Schools
St Ignatius’ College, Riverview
11 July 2012, 2:30pm
Australian Schoolboys v Tongan Schools
St Mary’s RL Stadium
14 July 2012, 6pm
NSW CHS v Tongan Schools
Forshaw Rugby Park
17 July 2012, 1:30pm
