SYDNEY SCHOOL TO FACE LOCAL 18S CLUB TEAMS ON CANTERBURY TOUR

Pre-season preparations are ramping up for clubs ahead of Canterbury Rugby League’s Monday night 16s and 18s competitions commencing at Ngā Puna Wai from May 1 – and next week two of our local 18s teams get a valuable chance to test themselves against a visiting Australian side.

Famed rugby league nursery St Gregory’s College’s first XIII are making their way over to Ōtautahi Christchurch for a two-match tour.

The school from Campbelltown in western Sydney will play against Papanui Tigers 18s on Tuesday, April 11 and Linwood Keas 18s on Thursday, April 13.

“It’s a really exciting opportunity for our clubs to have an Australian school team come over and play some games here,” Canterbury Rugby League Director of Football Jamie Lester enthuses.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing how our 18s teams, Papanui and Linwood, go taking on a school with such an impressive rugby league history. It’s a great challenge for them, to play against a different style of footy.

“And it’s great just to have a team touring our region – it’s not often we get that opportunity, particularly in recent years.”

St Gregory’s is the most successful team in the 48-year history of the NRL Schoolboy Cup, winning the prestigious competition – which features the strongest rugby league schools in NSW, ACT and Queensland – on nine occasions.

Alumni who went on to attain the game’s highest honours include Trent Barrett, James Tedesco, Eric Grothe Jr, Ryan Hoffman, Jason Taylor, Chris Lawrence, Michael Potter, Russell Richardson, Beau Scott, Matt Seers, and current NRL coaches Trent Robinson and Tim Sheens.

ST GREGORY’S FIRST XIII 2023 CANTERBURY TOUR
4pm, Tuesday, April 11 – v Papanui Tigers 18s @ Papanui Domain
4.30pm, Thursday, April 13 – v Linwood Keas 18s @ Ngā Puna Wai