The 48th Australian Schools Rugby Championships will take place at Knox Grammar School, Sydney from the 5th to 9th July 2002. The Championship includes a Boys Schools U18s and a Girls Schools National 7 tournament, with eight boy’s teams and seven girl’s teams totalling 290 athletes representing four states. The Girls 7 tournament includes an Open and Under 16 divisions. An Australian Schools ‘Australia A’ boys team of 27 will be announced following the Championship final with the team touring Japan in September/October 2022, An Australian Schools 7’s Girls Merit Team (Open) will be selected and will attend a national training camp with RU to be eligible for Australian U18 selection.
The Australian Schools Rugby Union ‘ASRU’ is an independent incorporated association run by volunteer members of the teaching profession and supporters who believe rugby has a unique ethos and benefits that contribute to the broader education of young people.
For over 50 years the ASRU has provided an expansive nursery to foster the opportunities and aspirations of school rugby players from a wide range of established and emerging competitions and networks. From the 1984 Grand Slam winning Wallabies team and the two Wallabies World Cup winning teams in 1991 and 1999, 27 of the players were Australian Schoolboy representatives. Since its inception in 1969 over 200 representatives of the Australian Schools Rugby Union have gone on to represent the Wallabies in the international arena. Hundreds more have been selected in state and other representative teams during this time.
The ASRU is an independent incorporated association run by volunteer members of the teaching profession and supporters who believe rugby has a unique ethos and benefits that contribute to the broader education of young people.
The Committee comprises of delegates appointed by each state Schools Union – two from each state/territory, with three from NSW. Delegates then elect an Executive.
The Australian Schools’ Rugby Union first convened as a committee in 1972 and the first Australian Schools Championships was conducted in 1975 in Melbourne.
The first Australian Schoolboys team predated the establishment of the ASRU Committee and Championships. That team toured South Africa in 1969 at the personal invitation of Danny Craven playing seven provincial games but no test matches. Greg Cornelsen, Russell Fairfax and Steve Finnane were all members of that team. Since then some 170 Schoolboys have gone to play for the Wallabies, countless more representing their State, with many more playing professionally across the world.
The first tour of the UK by an Australian Schools team occurred
in 1973, playing fifteen matches only losing to England at Twickenham in their final match. The UK tour has been a feature of Australian Schools Rugby occurring every four years since then. The ASRU is an affiliate of Rugby Australia. RA provides advice on player selections and appointment of coaches and management.
The Australian Schools Rugby Foundation is a separate incorporated body whose aim is to support the aims of the Schools Rugby Union. The Foundation comprises of business men, past Australian Schoolboys and Wallabies who look to use their business networks to provide additional financial support to the ASRU. The current Foundation Chair is David Mortime.
Name | Position | School | |
---|---|---|---|
Tim Cleary | President | ACT | [email protected] |
Damien Barker | Senior Vice President | QLD | [email protected] |
Kevin Culliver | Junior Vice President | St. Kevin’s College | [email protected] |
Stuart Meade | Junior Vice President | Matthew Flinders Anglican Colleges | [email protected] |
Libby Nankivell | Hon Secretary | QLD | [email protected] |
Chris Leadbetter | Executive Member QLD | St Laurence’s College | |
David Cooke | Executive Member QLD | Primary School | |
Frank LoPilato | Administrator/Treasurer | ACT | |
Matthew Hutchinson | Executive Member | ACT | |
Chuck Ardon | Executive Member NSW | Knox Grammar School | Ardon [email protected] |
John Papahatzis | Executive Member QLD | ||
Paul Geddes | Executive Member NSW | Central Coast Grammar School | [email protected] |
John Guy | Executive Member NSW | Hunter Valley Grammar School | [email protected] |
Nicolas Jack | Executive Member NT | NT Schools President | |
Noel Gardner | Committee Member QLD | St Edmunds College | [email protected] |
Andrew MacGregor | Executive Member SA | Prince Alfred College | [email protected] |
Ebony Altimira | Executive Member TAS | TAS | |
Rob Shields | Committee Member VIC | Melbourne Grammar School | [email protected] |
Suzanne Nugent | Committee Member | TAS | |
Andrew Elliott | Committee Member | NSW | |
Daniel Hawke | Committee Member | ACT | |
Vacant | Executive Member | WA | |