Bond Pirates from Miami on Gold Coast, Redfield College from Dural, NSW and Lismore City JRUC will be making their debut amongst the 44 schools and clubs to field run-on sides in the largest rugby carnival for under 13s in Australia.

Held on eight ovals at the school, the carnival attracts players and their families from as far as Orange, Sydney, the Sunshine Coast and Dalby.

 School teams include well-known Sydney and Brisbane rugby nurseries, while clubs participating come predominantly from the north including Tamworth, Moree and Inverell, and Alstonville on the NSW north coast.

With a strong emphasis on participation and development, the annual carnival has drawn praise from Australian rugby officials, including ARU CEO Bill Pulver, who was special guest last year. 

 Pulver described the event, which brings 1000 young players and their families to the region, as “a magnificent carnival that showcases everything good about our game.”

The event is supported by the ARU, which has a partnership with TAS to deliver the Junior Gold Cup Development Program in northern NSW.

TAS Director of Co-Curricular, Will Caldwell, said part of the carnival’s enduring appeal was the way it brought together a diverse range of schools and clubs from NSW and Queensland.

“The carnival has developed a reputation for the way it brings together junior boy and girl enthusiasts in a spirit of goodwill and camaraderie, that is for the benefit of players both with their own teams and other teams, and for the enjoyment of parents,” he said.