Prestigioso incontro su i campi di via Flamina sabato 19 dicembre la Under 18 sfiderà i pari età del “The Kings School” istituto di istruzione di Sdney Australia che vanta numerosi giocatori selezionati per la Nazionale maggiore.

Rugby at The King’s School

The King’s School has a proud history dating back to 1870 when we played our first fixture against Newington College.

As a founding member of the AAGPS, The King’s School has produced 28 old boys who have played for the Wallabies, four of whom have been Wallaby Captains.

However, Rugby at King’s is not just about the elite players. The culture of King’s Rugby is one that encourages all boys no matter their playing ability, to compete with fierce determination and commitment, whilst still honouring the traditions of fair play and sportsmanship. The King’s School is fortunate to have within our teaching staff a group of highly accredited Rugby coaches who work across all age groups. The specialist outside coaches that are involved in our program consist of current representative players and coaches, who keep our players and staff coaches updated with the current trends of the modern game.

The popularity of Rugby within the School sees the largest number of boys representing the School in any sport, with 36 teams competing each weekend during the winter season. Eight Rugby fields on the School site ensure that we are capable of hosting all our fixtures at King’s when playing home fixtures, and an international standard strength and conditioning facility enables the players to be at their peak physical condition at all times.

The King’s School is also renowned for being a touring school. We encourage our players to experience the benefits of touring both within Australia and overseas. Since 1996 The King’s School has taken a development touring squad to the UK and Europe, as well as annually hosting visiting Rugby teams from all around the world.

The Kings School

The King’s School is the oldest independent school in Australia and was founded in a very real sense at the Battle of Waterloo, where the Duke of Wellington’s success in defeating Napoleon led to a popularity that swept him into office as the Prime Minister of Great Britain. There the Duke was able to exercise his preferment and despatch his protége, Archdeacon Broughton to introduce a “superior description” of education into New South Wales.

The first site was a rented missionary house in George Street, Parramatta which was the earliest completed street in Australia. Later the School was to enjoy relocation to the crown land on the banks of the Parramatta River and the undoubted benefits of having a brewery on one side and an orchard on the other.

The School has provided education to princes and entertained the Royal Family on several occasions. The Royal family of Thailand also sent their Crown Prince to King’s in 1970, and the elected King of Malaysia sent his three sons in 1965.

In sport King’s ranks as one of the leading schools in Australia. The King’s School Athletics Club, founded in 1873, was one of the earliest in the world. Rugby Union was introduced into NSW by a King’s Senior Master, Mr Burkitt, and the first three rugby teams in NSW were The King’s School, The University of Sydney and The King’s School Old Boys, who called themselves the “Wallaroos”. Cricket in some form or other has been played at the School since 1832, and the first competitive game of soccer in Australia was played at King’s.

The King’s School also has one of the largest cadet forces in the country, and certainly the oldest. The Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, which characteristically sees many students each year being given the prestigious Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award, augments the leadership training within the School.

King’s has always enjoyed a particularly close relationship with the rural sector. These close links with the country have combined with many enriching international ties and strong links with the city to result in King’s being one of the largest boarding schools in Australia with some 400 students and 40 families living on site. To this number is added several hundred day students who make their way during term time to what surely must be one of the most impressive school grounds in the country. Spread over 300 acres of woodland in the geographical heart of Sydney, it represents an oasis of learning in Australia’s largest city.

The Council of The King’s School, presided over by the Archbishop of Sydney, has also taken within the orbit of its responsibility, Tudor House Preparatory School in Moss Vale, and The Blue Mountains Grammar School. The former now enjoys semi-independence and the latter complete independence, but nonetheless something of the stamp of King’s is still to be found in these schools.

For more information on The Kings School, or to make an enrolment inquiry, please visit The Kings School website at http://www.kings.edu.au.