The NT Rugby Union has been appointed “Host Union” for the 2017 National Primary Schools Championships.
The two-day tournament for Under 12 Mixed Gender State and Territory Teams will be played at Land Rover Rugby Park on the weekend of 30 September-01 October.
The Northern Territory joined the Championships in 2015 to further the Representative Pathway for its juniors, and have travelled to Newcastle and Adelaide and will relish the opportunity of playing at home.
The tournament will also be a great development opportunity for NT Rugby’s Junior Referees who will be able to officiate in Representative fixtures.
The Under 14 and Under 16 Boys will again compete at the Queensland Junior State Championships where they perform well against top class opposition.
This year’s Championship will be held at the Albany Creek GPS Junior Rugby Club in Brisbane and features representative teams from Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, North Queensland, Darling Downs and Central Queensland.
Colin Snowden and Luke Dodds will Coach the Under 14s while Gus Lawrie and Rob Taylor will Coach the Under 16s
The withdrawal by the National Indigenous Schoolboys from the Australian Division II Championships has caused a major upheaval to this year’s program for the NT Schoolboys.
The Northern Territory are the current Division II Champions, having defeated Tasmania, South Australia and National Indigenous at Riverview College in Sydney.
The pre-tour camp on the Southern Highlands of NSW hosted by the Bowral Rugby Union Club have been the catalyst to stronger performances at the last two Championships.
With the Division II format scrapped the Northern Territory, South Australia and probably Tasmania will head to the Gold Coast for a Schools Competition that features Colleges from Queensland and New Zealand
The Junior representative calendar concludes on the second weekend of December when the National Youth 7s Championships are held at Ballymore in Brisbane.
