For the second time in the carnival’s history, Matthew Flinders Anglican College of Buderim, Queensland, won the  Team of the Carnival that recognises good spirit and sportsmanship on and off the field. 

One hundred and five games of rugby were played over the weekend, with Sydney club team Gordon Highlanders defeating Scots College Prep 1 by 19-5 in the main division one final.

Waverley College Blue won the second division while Cranbrook School took out third division, both determined by overall points.

General Manager Rugby Development at NSW Rugby Union Adam Crane and Australian Rugby Union General Manager Pathways & Performance Ben Whitaker attended the carnival and, making his third visit, Whitaker sang the praises of what is regarded as the largest primary-aged rugby carnival in Australia.

He even argued maybe the name should be changed to a festival rather than carnival with all it has to offer.

“You go around and talk to the parents and the kids and this is everything rugby can be,” Whitaker said.

Fun, with levels for everybody, and a strong social element – great for fostering enjoyment of the game.

Among the interested spectators was former Wallaby and Fox Sports commentator Rod Kafer with his son playing in the carnival.

At a Q&A session after the official opening on Saturday, Kafer offered inspiring advice to participants, sharing his story about how his drive to succeed came out of suffering from diabetes, and how he then battled injuries three years before his initial selection in the Wallabies.

“I gave myself a goal to play one game for my country. Eventually after being injured and injured and injured for four years I had my first chance to play in 1999 and, getting to that point I then had the opportunity to run out in front of a world record crowd, and singing the national anthem for my country was the most amazing experience of my life,” he said.

“Boys, there will be things in life that will challenge you – disappointment, non-selection, injury, things going wrong on and off the field – and your challenge to become a Wallaby is to learn how to deal with it and keep getting better. 

“Every time you train, every game you play, every opportunity you get in rugby, you just have to get a bit better – and by the end of it, you might just end up a Wallaby.”

As the carnival was finishing up, the action was kicking-off across at Bellevue Oval, with the Central North, New England and U20s squads playing a three-way trial.

The main event of the day was the special World War I commemorative match which saw the Town side take the spoils over their uni (Gown) rivals 57-31.