To mark the 50 day countdown, Cardiff Blues’ southern hemisphere stars Ben Blair (New Zealand) and Maama Molitika (Tonga), along with Welsh Sports Minister Rhodri Glyn Thomas and WRU Head of Rugby Development Nigel Davies, took time out of their busy schedules today (Thursday April 17), to meet primary schoolchildren from Cardiff and give them a taste of what is in store for schoolchildren all over Wales this June.
Five match days will take place throughout June at Cardiff Arms Park, Newport’s Rodney Parade, the Liberty Stadium in Swansea and The Racecourse in Wrexham ensuring top class rugby action for families and rugby fans across Wales.
Children, coaches and clubs will be beneficiaries of a WRU-devised legacy programme to ensure the tournament leaves a lasting impact for Wales on many levels.
Over 3,000 schoolchildren around Wales will be encouraged to ‘adopt a nation’, learning about the language, culture and heritage of one of the 16 participating countries in an initiative which will allow children to meet with the international players staying, training and playing in their local area. They will also be given free match tickets to watch their ‘adopted nation’ in action and have a chance to win further prizes.
Other beneficiaries of the legacy programme will include community and elite coaches, who will be able to tap the brains of the international coaches coming to Wales, via open training sessions and an elite coaching forum in each region.
Fifteen rugby clubs in Wales have been specifically chosen as ‘host’ clubs for the international teams. They will benefit on two fronts – they will have the chance to keep a range of Rhino training equipment and Webb Ellis balls used by the teams once the teams leave Wales; they will also act as a link between the elite international side and the local community.
Today, the countdown clock to JWC reached 50 days before the first matchday on June 6th. To mark this date, and to launch the community legacy programme, Blues stars Ben Blair and Maama Molitika took time out of their busy schedule to give primary schoolchildren a taste of their native country with a Q and A session.
Ben Blair reached two U21 international tournament finals with New Zealand, beating South Africa to win the 2000 tournament.
The Blues fullback, who was capped six times for New Zealand said: “International age grade tournaments are where it all starts for budding professional rugby players. They are a real shop window and I’m sure those who perform well here in June will be knocking on the door of the senior international coaches within no time at all. I’m sure this tournament hosted in Wales will also inspire a whole host of young talent to go on and fulfil their potential in the sport, at whatever level.”
WRU Head of Rugby Development Nigel Davies said: “It is vital that we use the Junior World Championship to inspire the young people of Wales and that is one of the most important features of this tournament as far as Welsh rugby is concerned.
“Children all over Wales, such as the Cardiff school children present at the launch, will be inspired by meeting future stars of the world stage, while community and elite coaches will get to rub shoulders with the international coaches at the tournament, picking up tips and advice.”
Both New Zealand and Tonga will be based within the Blues region for the duration of the June tournament, playing their matches at Cardiff Arms Park along with Ireland and Argentina who make up Pool A.
The launch took place at Glamorgan Wanderers RFC, who will host Ireland for the Pool stages of the forthcoming tournament.
Richard Hodges, Glamorgan Wanderers Head Coach and Blues Regional Community Manager said: “The Junior World Championship will provide a fantastic opportunity for children to interact with elite rugby players from around the world, an experience which will expose them to other cultures and backgrounds and give them the chance to witness top class rugby in their own locality.
“From a club perspective, it gives us the chance to open our doors to the local community which will hopefully encourage people of all ages to get involved with club rugby in the future, be it as players, coaches, referees or volunteers.”
The Welsh Assembly Government has provided financial support to the WRU to bring the Championship to Wales, along with UK Sport, the IRB and commercial partners.
Rhodri Glyn Thomas, the Sports Minister said: “I’m pleased that the Welsh Assembly Government has been able to assist the WRU in bringing the inaugural Junior World Championship to Wales, and that children across Wales will get to watch some of the action for free. Hopefully this tournament will inspire the Welsh rugby stars of the future.”
WRU Group Chief Executive Roger Lewis said: “The Junior World Championship will bring the world’s elite young talent to Wales and our legacy programme will ensure Welsh rugby benefits for a long time to come.”
Tickets for the tournament are now on sale via Ticketmaster: Click Here to purchase online or telephone 08705 582 582.
