International Junior Rugby Tournament

During the 2011 Rugby World Cup, from the 23 September to the 3 of October 2011, seven-a-side rugby teams from six French high-schools located around the world (that are part of the Agency for French Education abroad) will travel to New Zealand to take part in their own version of the international tournament: the Young Rugby Reporters project. During their stay in Aotearoa, visiting students from Tunisia, the United States, Hong Kong, Spain, New Caledonia and Australia will be hosted by pupils from Scots College and Queen Margaret College.

The sporting and educational exchange will kick-off with an official welcome for the visitors at 2.45pm on Friday 23 September at Scots College (media welcome). The focal point of the project is a large one-day tournament to be held on the grounds of Scots College from 9.00am to 4.00pm on Thursday 29 September. In this competition, the 62 visiting students will compete in friendly seven-a-side matches against pupils from Scots College and Queen Margaret College. Members of the public are free to attend. Players from each of the six teams will also be selected to form a 15-a-side team to compete against their hosts at 9.30am on Friday 30 September. Wellingtonians and other visitors to the city are free to come and support whatever team they choose! They will be in good company as Former French international rugby player Philippe Sella will be a spectator at the match.

Other highlights of the young ambassadors’ stay in Aotearoa will include meeting the current French Rugby Team, who they will support at the France-Tonga match on 1 October, meetings with former All Blacks, a training session with Gordon Tietjens, coach of the New Zealand Rugby Sevens Team on Monday 26 September from 9.00am to noon at Scots College, (members of the media are welcome to attend), visits to Te Papa and Wellington.

The exchange will draw to a close on Saturday the 1 of October. A public prize-giving will be held at Te Papa’s wharewaka from 2.00 to 3.00pm. This will be attended by Philippe Sella and the current French Ambassador to New Zealand, H.E. Mr Francis Etienne.

As the name of the project indicates, Young Rugby Reporters offers participating pupils the opportunity to relay their experiences to their classmates: Each team will be provided with a laptop, a video camera and a camera to take turns to create a post about their trip (in French and in English) for the Young Rugby Reporters blog. This blog will also include photos and possibly short video clips. Upon their return to school, each team must produce a 10 minute video report to be broadcast on a website designed specifically for the use of the entire Agency for the teaching of French overseas.

ENDS

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