Naidoc Cup to hit Western Sydney

Australian Rugby Union in partnership with NSW Rugby will launch the inaugural NAIDOC Cup tomorrow, Tuesday 24 June in Granville Park in Western Sydney in the lead up to NAIDOC Week (6-13 July).

The NAIDOC Cup, which is a Sevens tournament for school boys and girls, will be a fun, fast-paced tournament with teams drawn from the Torres Strait Islands and across New South Wales.

General Manager, Rugby Participation Andrew Larratt said he was excited about the new tournament.

“It’s really great to see so many teams coming from across New South Wales and the Torres Strait Islands to participate in the inaugural NAIDOC Cup.”

“We’re strongly committed to growing Rugby in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island communities and see Rugby Sevens in particular as an excellent way to encourage participation in our sport.”

ARU Indigenous Rugby Participation Manager Jordan Goddard will be coordinating the event, which starts at 9.30am AEST tomorrow morning.

“It’s always a lot of fun running these tournaments for the students and it’s great to see them take so much out of it,” he said.

“Having managed Rugby activities and events in Alice Springs, Darwin and Thursday Island, I am really excited about bringing the inaugural NAIDOC Cup to Western Sydney.”

The tournament will see 12 teams across four age divisions compete to be crowned champions of their respective age groups.

For the boys, there will be an Under 15s and Under 17s tournament and for the girls, there will be an Under 16s and Under 18s.

The schools competing in the inaugural NAIDOC Cup are:

· Endeavour Sports High

· Hunter Sports High School

· Cranebrook High School

· Tuggerah lakes College

· Lumeah High School

· Airds High Schools

· Combined Torres Strait Island team