The Junior Gold Cup Grand Finals, featuring the best under 15 and under 17 talent from across Australia will be contested this weekend, with teams from Brisbane and Western Australia to take on Victoria in both age groups.
The winners of Southern and Northern conferences for both age groups were decided last weekend and will now battle it out to be crowned inaugural Junior Gold Cup Champions.
Australian Rugby Union General Manager, Development Pathways, Ben Whitaker was very satisfied to see the success of the Victorian and WA sides within the national competition model.
“It’s very exciting to see Victoria have teams in both of the 15s and 17s and Western Australia in the U17s. It’s a huge credit to the work of the Melbourne Rebels and Western Force unions as it is to the work of all state unions in supporting and preparing teams for the competition finals”.
“Many people across the country have contributed enormously to this year’s inaugural Junior Gold Cup competition and we would like to thank everyone from state union staff, coaches, managers, match officials, players and families for making it a success.”
“The standards of the Junior Gold Cup this year have been exceptional and we are looking forward to this competition attracting and developing the next generation of future Qantas Wallabies and Qantas Sevens players for many years ahead.”
In the Under 17s age group, Western Australia progressed to the grand final as the Northern Conference representative after defeating Brisbane Purple in Perth 23-8 on Saturday. In the Southern Conference, Victoria defeated the North West Cobras 29-15 to earn the right to play in the Grand Final.
Melbourne Rebels Elite Pathways Manager, Matt Tink, has been ecstatic with the performance of the two Victorian teams.
“We are very happy with how both of our age groups have gone in the Junior Gold Cup. We’ve been working hard for months now, so it is really great to see two grand final appearances.
“We had some difficult games on the road due to the nature of the competition, but to make it to the Grand Final is a credit to our players and coaches. With any luck, both Junior Gold Cup trophies will make their way to Melbourne.
“We were fortunate to have a dedicated group of volunteers help our team including Strength and Conditioning Coaches, Physios and Managers.”
The Grand Final between Western Australia and Victoria will be played this Saturday 5 April at 11am AWT McGillivray Oval, Mount Claremont in Perth.
In the Under 15s Northern Conference, Brisbane Purple secured a home Grand Final after defeating Brisbane Yellow in the all Queensland derby 15-9 on Saturday.
In the Southern Conference Victoria overcame the ACT in a close run affair, winning 19-15. The Under 15s Grand Final gets underway at 4.40pm at Suncorp stadium as a curtain raiser to the St.George Queensland Reds match against the Western Force.
The Final will be the culmination of seven weeks of effort by the Junior Gold Cup Centres around the country.
JGC by the numbers:
•1400 players participated
•96 coaches
•124 games to date
•48 team managers
•376 match official appointments
•42 venues across the country
•660 return flights
•17 bus trips
