Sydney Junior Rugby Union (SJRU) with the support of The Rugby Club Foundation began a Minis initiative in 2024 to address the steady decline in minis participation numbers.

The initiative included the appointment of a Minis Competition Manager who was tasked with organising all the minis competitions across Sydney which had previously been run by the individual Districts. A central point of organisation and draw creation allowed a number of ‘cross-over’ weekends where Districts would play teams from other Districts. SJRU also provided clubs with templates for marketing and player recruitment – whilst also doing centralised marketing for minis across Sydney.

The task of wrangling the minis competitions into a combined unit and turn around the decline in minis numbers is a substantial undertaking and the initiative is a multi year plan. The feedback on the progress from 2024 has been positive, with the change to Tri-Tag and the cross-over rounds creating a more substantial experience.

The Rugby Club Foundation is proud to be supporting Sydney Junior Rugby Union in nurturing this vital part of our game and its future.