NZRL National Secondary Schools Returns For 2021 After Two-year Hiatus

2021 will see the much-awaited return of one of NZRL's most significant calendar events – the NZRL National Secondary Schools Tournament.

After a two year hiatus due to a 2019 measles outbreak and the global Covid-19 pandemic, the five-day tournament returns to Auckland’s Pulman Park bigger and better than ever before.

Sixteen schools from across the country will battle it out for the ultimate Secondary Schools Premiership title alongside the Senior Boys Championship and an inaugural Girls Championship involving eight women’s teams for the first time in the competition’s history.

The tournament will commence on Monday 30 August, with the finals taking place Friday 3 September at Pulman Park. The finals will be televised live on Sky Sport.

Due to the success of the inaugural Schools v Clubs fixture in 2020, New Zealand Rugby League will select the best players from this year's Secondary Schools Tournament to form the New Zealand Schools (Boys 18s) team to play against New Zealand Clubs (18s) on Sunday 17 October 2021.

NZRL GM of Football and High Performance, Motu Tony says "Secondary Schools is one of our biggest and most anticipated calendar events, so it is exciting to see it finally return."

"The competition provides a huge platform for our school-aged talent across the country to showcase their skill and ability. The addition of a Schools 18's selection for our boys adds another layer of incentive and a further potential elite rugby league pathway.

"For the first time in the competition's history, 2021 will also include an inaugural Girl's division. This reflects how fast our game is growing in this space, and the Girl's competition will only further the momentum and appeal our women's game has.

"We know how disappointed people were when we had to call it off over the past couple of years, so it is a great feeling not only to see it return but return bigger and better than we have ever seen."

NZRL’s National Secondary Schools is famous for developing budding rugby league success, with Golden Boot winner Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, and recent NRL debutant Jordan Riki, only two of the countless Kiwis to have played the tournament.

To register interest in the 2021 NZRL Secondary Schools competition please click here.
 

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