Excitement builds for annual junior rugby carnival in Albany this weekend

Fourty-three teams and more than 500 players are expected to hit the field on Saturday and Sunday for the Albany Junior Rugby Club’s annual carnival, the Ray White Rural 7s tournament. Teams from across Perth and several regions will make the trip to compete across five divisions with the Albany Storm set to play in the under-10, under-12, under-13 and under-14 categories. Albany Storm were under-12s cup winners after a thrilling finish to their campaign in 2022 and under-13 Albany Storm coach Allen Ripahou expects another competitive effort this year. “It’s a really huge event that attracts a lot of people,” he said. “All our boys play footy during the season and then there are three boys that go to Perth every second week during footy season to play rugby for the South West spirit team. “Apart from those three, all the local kids are footy players and soccer players that come together. “We’ve won it the last few years in a row so we’re hoping to keep our title, I think the Rockingham team will be strong in the under-14s division. “For the younger divisions, I really think it is anyone’s game.” Ripahou said the carnival gives local players the chance to test their mettle against a wide array of strong opposition. “The kids really enjoy playing against the other teams because they only get a chance to play against people we train with every week,” he said. “It’s much better when they’ve got outside people coming in, meeting new kids is a big thing, you’ll see some kids will play with other clubs. “Just as long as everyone gets a run, that’s the main thing. “We’ll have lots of food and things for kids to do like ball games and things like that, it will be a great weekend.” Games will be played at the grounds near Campbell and North Road in the Centennial Park Sporting Precinct and begin on Saturday morning. This is the carnival’s sixth edition and it is sponsored by Ray White, Great Southern Pipelines and Southern Bus Charters.

Excitement builds for annual junior rugby carnival in Albany this weekend

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